Storage silos are a common sight in the agricultural areas of South Africa. Outdated control systems that are costly and unreliable to operate mean more and more of them are being upgraded as part of the owners’ desire to increase efficiencies.
E and I System Integrators, distributor and system integrator for Ana-Digi Systems and LS PLC products has undertaken numerous silo upgrades in the Northwest Province and Free State.
Hennie Venter, manager of E and I System Integrators, explains that in upgrading the silos, the company undertook the PLC and scada programming and all the necessary changes to the electrical control circuits to interface to the PLC. Where an MCC needed to be replaced, this was done by an electrical panel builder, although E and I was responsible for the integration of the project in total.
“E and I used the LS GLOFA GM4-series PLC from Ana-Digi Systems for the upgrades because of its simple yet powerful instruction set,” Venter says. He notes that the GMWIN program is also easy to understand and operate and is issued free of charge. The LS GM4 offers impressive input/output (I/O) module density, which together with Smartlink terminal connector boards, saves on cost of construction space and time.
The system is easily expandable, reliable and cost-effective: “Some of the systems have now been running for almost four years without any breakdowns,” Venter says.
The LS GM4 PLC is built to offer fast processing time using high-speed gate arrays. In cases where remote communication or expansion is required, there are many modules available. The LS GM4 supports Modbus, C-Net, DeviceNet, Fast Ethernet, F-Net, Profibus-DP and R-Net. It also offers a downsizing and high-performance function.
The GM4’s maximum number of I/O points is 2048 for the GM4A/B and 3584 for the GM4C, with up to 32 768 I/O using expansion cards. The I/O modules feature optical isolation, LED status monitoring removable terminal blocks and one-touch installation. Other available modules include high-speed counters, 3-axis position control, current/voltage analogue cards and temperature detection.
Venter believes that the silo upgrades have proved successful, saying: “Reliability was brought back into the system. Old interlocking systems were replaced and the installation of the Adroit scada system brought down maintenance and operational costs. The old mimic panels, which were high maintenance and costly to maintain, are now totally redundant.”
He concludes that Ana-Digi Systems has proved to be a reliable supplier in terms of support and assistance. “Components and equipment we ordered arrive promptly, even from overseas,” he says. “I am treated professionally by the friendly and supportive staff of both the Johannesburg and Cape Town offices, and consequently enjoy doing business with Ana-Digi Systems.”
[Note]: LG Industrial Systems products are now marketed under the name of LS Industrial Systems.
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