The project concerns the renewal of a twin-engine arm for a cement factory in Wallonia. This arm is used for loading tank trucks. The automation should increase safety and relieve the drivers who had previously had to climb onto their tanker, open the hatch and then operate the arm with a joystick.

This application made it possible to set up safety and work zones. With regard to safety, the automation ensures that collisions and incorrect operations are avoided.
The central element of this project is Safe Kinematics' Simatic S7-1515 SP CPU application, using Siemens' Profinet IRT communication protocol, complemented by Sinamics S120 AC drives and Simogear geared motors.  The two pillars of this safety project are the addition of a platform used by the truck driver to access the hatch of his truck on the one hand, and the automated verification of the positioning of the loading arm and the two motors on the other.  The Simogear geared motors allow the integration of safety parameters, while the Kinematics application ensures full synchronization of both arm axes.

Ceratec / Programming a loading arm for tankers in the cement industry