Copper Slitter Featuring Unwind, Transport/Bridle Rolls, Slitting, Looping Pit and Winder Upgraded To Siemens 1500 PLC and 6RA80 DC Drives
One of M.R. Snyder’s latest projects included an upgrade of an existing Chicago slitter. In this improvement, new drives, PLC, and HMI interfaces were integrated into existing control panels. The goal was to increase reliability for the customer and eliminate obsolescence issues. A Siemens S71517F safety processor and new Siemens 6RA80 DC drives were used to replace an obsolete AB PLC 5 controller and Siemens 6RA24 DC drives. A 19” Comfort Panel was incorporated into the main operator station. Profinet replaced the existing communications network. M.R. Snyder provided a turn-key solution for all electrical aspects including demolition, installation, IO checkout, drive commissioning and startup. Successful implementation was completed in a nine-day window, with engineers remaining onsite an additional three days for round-the-clock monitoring and support.
Project Description
- PLC and drive upgrade to eliminate obsolescence and reliability issues, as well as, improve system safety features
- 80-foot line with rotating loading and unloading equipment to avoid direct forklift interaction with unwind and winder
- Approximately 500 IO points on one main rack and twenty-two remote racks
- Control and coordination programming of six new Siemens 6RA80 DC drives ranging from 20 HP to 200 HP
- Project value range: $500K to $1M
Project Implementation
The project was divided into four sections led by different engineers to enhance efficiency, reduce bottlenecks, and ensure that absence by any member of the team would not jeopardize the timeline of the overall project. The four sections consisted of:
- Demolition and Install
- IO Checkout
- Drive Tuning and Setup
- Equipment/Program Functionality Checks
Technology Utilized
- Programmed in Siemens TIA Portal environment
- S71517F Siemens Safety Processor
- Sinamics S120 drives
- 19” Siemens Comfort Panel
- Profinet
Contact M.R. Snyder Company to learn more about our system upgrade and retrofit capabilities. Our engineers will work with your company to update and improve the performance of existing automation systems.
