Mobile radio telemetry solution for beer application
November 2004
Data Acquisition & Telemetry
SAB-Miller in Newlands recently expanded its mobile trolley system in order to overcome the limitations of its existing manual piping system for the pumping of beer between fermentation tanks. The mobile trolleys, designed and manufactured by Chaswill Process Technology, were installed with Elpro radio communication units. This prevents any problems associated with running hardware signal cables from the trolleys to the central automation system. The area is extremely wet due to high cleaning standards to maintain absolutely hygienic conditions.
Elpro, a cost-effective solution for radio telemetry, was chosen for its compatibility with SAB's existing Siemens automation platform. The new Elpro 105U-G-PR1 Base module was used to talk to the I/O unit slaves, Elpro 105U-4 and Elpro 105S-1, which were fixed onto the trolley. The system consists of a base module on the Profibus network that communicates to five trolleys with digital and analog I/O, which in turn controls the devices on the trolleys.
The Profibus interface on the Elpro 105U-G allows for less hardware and easy interfacing with diagnostics, as apposed to traditional methods like serial communications and hardwires telemetry. The Elpro units also come in various interfaces that integrate into other control systems like Profibus, Modbus, Modbus plus, Ethernet and DeviceNet.
Even though Elpro's equipment can work without a licence, SAB decided to apply for a licence from ICASA, as a dedicated frequency would further enhance the reliability of the system and avoid interference to existing systems on the same premises. This is the third application using Elpro telemetry in the same plant.
Engineers from SAB, Chaswill, Quad Automation and UniTemp worked together in the design of this system. The pumping trolleys were designed and built in such a way as to provide maximum protection to the radio equipment in wet environments and to provide easy handling by the operators. Quad Automation did the complex control system software on the project.
For more information contact Willem Krige, UniTemp, 021 762 8995; Shane Smart, Chaswill Process Technology, 021 510 3515; Abraham Voster, Quad Automation, 021 658 7494.
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