Plants in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries often use skids from different manufacturers. This means that when systems are integrated, environments quickly come into conflict. Among other things, each module has a manufacturer-specific logic, programming, and operation. In addition to transmission protocols, the alarms and notifications generated by the skids must also be properly integrated into the control system. The same applies to the visualization of all the control parameters. In many cases, this results in the mechanical integration of the modules proceeding much more quickly than their integration into the automation technology.
“In the future, it will be even more important for us on the industry side to agree on standards for how machines communicate with one another. This is a key requirement for speedily advancing the implementation of Industrie 4.0.” Matthias Wiemann, head of Automation and Controls for GEA separators
Engineering modules and automation system “speak” MTP based on TIA Portal Standardization is the key to open and flexible automation concepts. This is where the module type package (MTP) comes into play. It provides the common “language” for describing the properties of process modules independent of manufacturer and technology. This functional description based on automation markup language (AML) is generated from the module automation engineering data. It makes it possible for any higher-level automation system that “speaks” MTP to accurately control a specific module, whether it’s a centrifuge, granulator, or homogenizer.
"In addition to the mechanical factory acceptance test, in the future we’ll also be able to record how notifications and alarms appear on our test beds. This will allow end users to benefit from our process and engineering knowledge directly. The result is reduced effort and expenditure and greater planning reliability. In the future, Module Type Package will make a lot of things easier."
Patrick Eickhoff, project manager for software development at GEA
At its Oelde site (Westfalia, Germany) and on around 85,000 square meters GEA manufactures state-of-the-art centrifuges – they separate liquids from solids or liquids of different densities.
Awards
Best DI Reference Process Automation Nov 2019 2019
Contact
Contact our sales for more information and to discuss directly how our products and solutions could help you to best solve your problem.