Recently, Sterling Systems & Controls, Inc. was asked to automate existing independent process equipment into a single automated system. 
To do this, Sterling Systems & Controls custom-engineered two (2) UL Approved Control Panels, for a wet sand processing application. The facility processed wet sand into dry sand for use in the masonry industry. Two UL Approved Control Panels were supplied for use in two different locations, one outside and one inside. The outdoor control panel, in addition to acting as an HMI, also integrated the controls for outside equipment. Access to this equipment from the PLC (inside control panel) was via Ethernet.
The new automated process control system has been designed to control and monitor various equipment for moving wet sand from either rail car or reclaim dump hopper. A pneumatic dense phase conveying system is used to transport the wet send to the In-feed hopper and then conveyed through a dryer, and finally stored in two sand silos. Wet sand from the outside can also be transported, via the dense phase conveying system, to a wet sand pile receiver hopper.
The processes controlled included:
- Inside Reclaim Dump
The inside reclaim dump process displays the equipment used in the process. The status of each piece of equipment is indicated on the screen by color. The color will change depending on whether the equipment is in Manual, Automatic or Off.
- Outside Rail
The outside rail screen graphically displays the equipment used in the receiving and discharging process. The status of each piece of equipment is indicated on the screen by color. The color will change depending on whether the equipment is in Manual, Automatic or Off.
The outside rail screen graphically displays the equipment used in the receiving and discharging process. The status of each piece of equipment is indicated on the screen by color. The color will change depending on whether the equipment is in Manual, Automatic or Off.
- Inside Rail Reclaim Dump
The inside rail reclaim dump screen graphically displays the equipment used in the receiving and discharging process. The status of each piece of equipment is indicated on the screen by color. The color will change depending on whether the equipment is in Manual, Automatic or Off.
The inside rail reclaim dump screen graphically displays the equipment used in the receiving and discharging process. The status of each piece of equipment is indicated on the screen by color. The color will change depending on whether the equipment is in Manual, Automatic or Off.
- Dust Hoppers
The Dust Hoppers screen graphically displays the equipment used. The status of each piece of equipment is indicated on the screen by color. The color will change depending on whether the equipment is in Manual, Automatic or Off.
The Dust Hoppers screen graphically displays the equipment used. The status of each piece of equipment is indicated on the screen by color. The color will change depending on whether the equipment is in Manual, Automatic or Off.
Sterling Systems & Controls supplied the following equipment:
- NEMA12/4 mild steel for UL Approved Control Panel, the Main PLC Panel. This panel encloses the main Allen Bradley PLC rack for controlling and monitoring equipment located inside the facility. This control panel also includes an Allen Bradley PanelView Plus 1000 touchscreen display.
- NEMA12/4 mild steel UL Approved Control Panel, the Rail Car Panel. This panel houses a remote I/O PLC rack for controlling and monitoring equipment located outside the building. The panel also includes an Allen Bradley PanelView Plus 1000 touchscreen display. An ethernet connection exists between the two Control Panels.
- Two wall-mounted alarm/light beacons are located outside and inside near the Sterling Systems-supplied control panels.
- One outside mounted traffic light is located near the reclaim dump hopper for communicating with the operator of the end loader.
PanelView Screen Layouts
Both the Inside and Outside Process Panel View
The Allen Bradley PanelView Plus is located on the UL-approved control panels, the main PLC control panel and the Rail Car Panel, each containing several screens. These screens are for equipment inside the building from the reclaim dump hopper to the dryer and two (2) sand silos. Each equipment item on the screens that is automated can be tapped on to open the manual/off/automatic popup screen. Typically all equipment will be in automatic. The manual or off selections will be used for troubleshooting or testing only. However, if any of the equipment is manually controlled, it will override any process interlocks. If equipment is left in automatic, all interlocks will be observed. Amperage from any motor that may have a VFD will be shown on the PanelView Plus display. Temperatures from the dryer will also be shown. Pressures from either of the system pressure pots will also be shown. A System Parameter screen exists and contains fields to hold various timers such as equipment purge, spin-up, and fault timers. The process screen showing equipment states is graphical in nature and logical in flow. Either equipment graphics or symbolic icons are used to distinguish equipment operating states indicating whether equipment is running, stopped, or faulted. Security is implemented to make any screen inaccessible when not logged in. When the PanelView remains idle, the operator is automatically logged out. An Alarm Banner and History is available. The Alarm History holds up to 200 alarms. In addition to the equipment process screens on the Sterling Systems supplied PanelView HMI’s, the PanelViews also integrate screens for and including the dense phase pneumatic conveying pressure pots.
Working With Us
Give us a call today to talk about your business and process objectives and see how Sterling Systems & Controls can provide a custom engineered solution. You can reach us by phone at 1-815-625-0852, toll-free in the USA 1-800-257-7214, or by email at sci@sterlingcontrols.com.
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