The crane project
Let us taking a closer
look at the crane project for Walcarius based on ASRM applications (Automatic Storage and Retrieval
Machine). The objective? The automation of the tasks involved in
transporting the steel sheets from the warehouse to the production hall and the
shipping department. Up to now, these tasks had been carried out manually, more
specifically using forklift trucks which meant that there were associated
safety risks such as the danger of falling steel sheets.
The project has also resulted in
greater efficiency. The machine that Ceratec was asked to design had to be
capable of handling sheets of up to 7 x 2 meters and have a lifting capacity of
up to 6.5 tons of steel. The basic idea? The crane has to be operated in
an enclosed safety zone and automation makes it possible to constantly verify
whether all the safety parameters are being respected, such as the position or
speed but also brake wear (via tests) and the load level.
Controllers,
technological objects and drives
Ceratec chose to design the best
possible application based on Siemens solutions: What did Ceratec mechanical experts come up
with? A crane 15 meters high, 8 meters long and 6 meters wide with
propulsion cables. Ceratec analyzed the automation requirements based on this
and chose Siemens components.
Ceratec decided on the
ASRM Simatic S7-1517 TF CPU application, in conjunction with
Sinamics S120
frequency converters and
Simogear
geared motors.
The motion control part of the
application is programmed using technological objects for optimum integration
and ease of use. In
concrete terms, that means that the theoretical operating and positioning
curves are input in the controller. The software ensures the monitoring of the
effective position and speed of the crane. As soon as these values deviate from
the theoretical curve, the crane switches to safety mode or a preventive
shutdown is initiated. Why choose controllers actuated by technological
objects? Because control can take place in the controller itself rather than at
the level of the individual converters, which is more efficient in terms of synchronization
and speed of communication and computation.
The reason for choosing Siemens was very
simple. Ceratec: “
At the time when we were designing the automation system
for the crane, Siemens was the only supplier able to offer us continuous curve
monitoring via the ASRM application. ”
Safe
Kinematics - the driving force behind the application Ceratec choose the Simatic S7-1517 TF CPU application from Safe Kinematics for this which uses the Profinet IRT
communication protocol from Siemens, supplemented by
Sinamics S120
frequency converters and
Simogear
geared motors.
Customer’s statement:
“The automation of the verification
process ensures that collisions and incorrect operations are avoided. Why did
we choose the Kinematics application? Because it met our needs perfectly,
thanks to the set-up of safety and work zones in particular. So we now have a
powerful controller that takes care of the full synchronization of both arm
axes. We chose Siemens for this project too for the same reason as before: they
were the only supplier that met all our requirements. With regard to the
motors, switching to the new generation of geared motors equipped with safety
encoders has enabled us to integrate the safety parameters. The fact that they
can guarantee the position values in this way makes them unique. As far as
the Sinamics S120 frequency converters are concerned, their compactness was
one of the main criteria on which our choice was based. ”
Objectives
realized
The crane designed for
Walcarius was put into operation in the summer of 2021 and has fully met the
expectations of Walcarius. It has not only improved safety but also
enabled transport tasks to be carried out about 40% quicker. The customer feedback has
been extremely positive.
