Customised solutions for efficient process automation
/ Digitisation with a strategy for the future / The digital transformation of industry offers fascinating opportunities and new challenges in equal measure. Solutions for process automation must fit into existing structures while being futureproof and flexible so that the digitisation steps do not lead to a dead end. For you, it is important that valve automation fits your individual applications and challenges. That is why we provide objective consultation and have a solution-neutral offer ready for you. In the process, we reduce everything you can do without to a minimum: complexity, risk and engineering effort. Innovative automation concepts with individual planning and implementation ensure that the relevant data are constantly available and that the infrastructure and valve control of your systems do exactly what they are supposed to do reliably and efficiently.
Mechanical engineering for the food industry and pharmaceutical skids
Anyone like you who develops, produces and installs machines for the pharmaceutical industry or the food industry needs resourceful experts and a lot of specialised know-how. You are faced with the challenge of meeting the very high quality standards of the pharmaceutical industry and at the same time effectively managing your own company. In the following, you will learn how Bürkert supports you with individual automation concepts and intelligent components.
Production of food and pharmaceuticals
Your food or pharmaceutical production processes must be efficient, safe and hygienic. The aim is to reduce plant downtimes as effectively as possible and to process your valuable raw materials with as little residue and cross-contamination as possible. Find out here how Bürkert can support you with individually tailored automation solutions for safe and smooth productionwhether for a new system or for the modernisation of your existing system.
/ Automate valve control simply, safely and cost-optimised /
In order to meet the requirements of the markets and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitisation, machines and systems in hygienic environments must be automated to an ever greater extent. It is crucial for you that the automation components can be easily integrated into new or existing systems and quickly put into operation. It is also important to work together to find a way to optimise manufacturing and operating costs for skids and machines with a lot of pneumatic process valves.
/ Automate valve controls in a simple and cost-optimised way / Discrete wiring leads to a high amount of work. As an example, the challenges in machine planning and integration are visible in a filling machine in the production of food or pharmaceutical products. Different types of devices are needed for this process, e.g. actuators, flowmeters, pressure and temperature sensors. So each device has a cable connection to a discrete port of an IO module in the control cabinet. In this example, customers use devices with 4-20 mA interfaces and binary input and outputs. This means that the number of functions is limited - as is the bandwidth and consequently the amount of diagnostic data.
Lengthy,
error-prone installation
To connect a device, this solution requires all 12 strands in the cable to be connected correctly. This can easily cause cable breaks, which are often difficult to find. The error potential is high, and troubleshooting is usually extremely time-consuming. This also applies overall to the installation and start-up.
12 strands per cable
Analogue in Binary out
Too much space required for control cabinets
A lot of cables and IO cards also means: large space requirements. Control cabinets and cable racks must be correspondingly large and require a lot of installation space. It is also unfavourable that, due to the large number of cables, abrupt changes in voltage can cause cross-talk from one cable to another cable laid in parallel, which disrupts the process and impairs its repeatability.
High
cabling and wiring effort
Wiring the machine takes a lot of time in the analogue variant, as the consumer devices such as sensors or control heads exchange their signals via numerous strands in one cable, which quickly makes installation confusing and time-consuming. Since each unit has an electrical connection, an electrician has to check all cables individually for start-up, which is an enormous amount of work.
/ Greater safety, less effort thanks to intelligent networking / Huge effort to connect? No, there’s a better way: Our communication engineers have developed an alternative solution. It reduces the number of cables to four, and at the same time only one type of IO-Link master serves all devices. All relevant data are available digitally - and significantly more parameters can be read out than in conventional solutions.
This enables permanent diagnostics to ensure system availability at all times. In addition, integrated S2 redundancy increases the availability of the system - pure reliability. As all wire connectors are replaced by M12 connections, the assembly process of electrical devices is very fast, safe and simple. The changeover from analogue to digital devices also eliminates the need for recalibration after a certain operating time.
Lower costs through individual concepts
Standardised cables in different lengths with M12 connections can be connected directly without time-consuming start-up - and thus without additional electrician costs - as coding in the plug prevents incorrect wiring. This makes installation much easier, faster and cheaper. If, in addition, the same units, e.g. of device key 8681, are used for similar applications, storage and planning costs can be reduced.
Space-optimised solutions with small control cabinets
Fast fault identification and prevention
Our optimised concepts reduce complexity in machine and system design. In this way, errors during the integration of distributed or decentralised automation units can be prevented directly at the installation site - both during start-up and during subsequent maintenance. The M12 connections of the units are designed in such a way that they can only be plugged in one way and there is no longer any need for troubleshooting in the cable. The large number of available digital analysis parameters also ensures continuous, reliable system monitoring.
Clearly structured automation solutions make it possible to develop space-saving machines and systems. In this solution, smaller control cabinets can be used, for example, so that the size of the cable tray is significantly reduced, which saves space and costs. If you have connected 60 IO-Link devices as in our example, you only need one compact control cabinet instead of two. Moreover, since wire connectors are replaced by M12 connections, the assembly process of electronic devices is simpler and the potential for errors is reduced enormously. The result: Start-up can be carried out more effectively and in less time.
Solution-oriented, objective consultation on valve automation
We listen to you carefully and analyse what you want to achieve with your application. For a customised solution, we combine intelligent concepts and various industrial protocols as required. If there is a more efficient, easier to install and future-proof alternative solution for your application, we can present it to you objectively and consider the pros and cons together. We offer you consistently decentralised, distributed and standardisable solutions, irrespective of the system selected and the valve types used
/ Guarantees high process reliability / Trouble-free communication reduces downtimes - and costs. Bürkert's solutions are designed as a loop in which the PLC can communicate clockwise and counterclockwise so that a line interruption is not a problem. Production continues safely, even if a cable breaks or an interface module fails. The solutions are connected via the system redundancy S2 or a media redundancy protocol (MRP).
Installation in 60 minutes instead of seven hours: An example from the filling sector illustrates the differences in installation effort. A filling machine needs various components, for example actuators, flowmeters, pressure sensors and temperature sensors, which contribute to the desired production result in a coordinated manner. In the calculation example, we assume that 32 control heads are required. A control head with three position feedbacks, external proximity switch, power supply and three valve outputs has twelve wires on each side of the cable in the discrete design.
+ 6 hours
For start-up and analogue displacement measurement, a qualified electrician must install 768 wire-end ferrules on 32 control heads and also connect all cables to the unit connections and in the control cabinet. This is an all-day task that takes about seven working hours. If, on the other hand, a Bürkert solution with two M12 connectors per unit is used, the installation time is reduced to a single hour - which means six hours are saved.
/ Ensure product quality and increase plant availability / Product quality is of crucial importance in the pharmaceutical industry and in the production of food and beverages. At the same time, you want to utilise your plant as efficiently as possible while avoiding downtime. Planned maintenance is just as important as targeted process monitoring. To ensure all end products have the same high quality, every plant must guarantee precise and reliable control of all media at the process level. For this purpose, all process valves and sensors require a safe and quick-to-install connection to the digital process control. Because receiving all relevant parameters and process data from all devices is one of the most important steps for building a high efficiency machine or system.
/ Consistent product quality and low expenditure for plant operation / The advantages of automated process steps can best be understood with an example. Therefore, in the following we will look at the extraction process for the production of sugar or sugar syrup: A conveyor belt transports the crushed sugar beet from the cutting machine to the extraction tower, where the juice is extracted. To prevent the beet pulp and the escaping juice
Risk of errors due to manual processes
The conveyor belt in top view shows: The adjustment of the conveyor belt to a changed beet pulp quantity or size of the individual beet pulp must be carried out at exactly the right time to avoid undesirable disturbances. When a worker, who inevitably has to be positioned close to the process, manually enables the pneumatic distributor when a problem suddenly occurs, attention and timing are crucial - in other words: the process is prone to error. If it is not carried out properly or not at all, the result is congestion, production stops and wasted materials.
from slipping off, the conveyor belt is equipped with adjustable guides that have to be shifted at short notice depending on the quantity and size of the mixture. This makes the passage larger or smaller. In a conventional manufacturing process, employees have to operate cylinders by hand to bring the guides into the correct position.
Outgoing goods
Standstill due to sensitive analogue components Harsh production conditions such as humidity, cold and dust can lead to errors in the process or even destroy the functionality of the components; individual strands can easily corrode and break. If you want to find errors, this is time-consuming with no or too few diagnostic functions, just like the replacement of mechanical and electrical components and renewing their parameterisation.
High effort for operation and maintenance
Conventional set-ups usually involve a high degree of complexity. This is also shown by the topic of compressed air: In the exemplary illustration, each individual pneumatic piston hangs on the distribution line - which means: a lot of hose lines and just as many interfaces. This in turn leads to considerable potential for error and a high risk of leakage. Such complex solutions also require specialised personnel for operation and maintenance, such as electricians, who have to be employed by the company or hired from service providers.
/ Process reliability with a distributed automation concept / An innovative solution for automating a manual process step such as the described correction of the conveyor belt is a distributed automation concept with components in a hygienic design. In the example shown here, the cylinders from a thirdparty supplier are pneumatically controlled with the AirLINE Field device key 8653. The feedback signals on the cylinder are simply connected to the ME64 digital input module via an M12 cable. The pneumatic module device key 8653 (IP65/IP67) can be placed close to the cylinder for a fast reaction or switching time. The ME63 gateway is connected via EtherNet/IP to the control cabinet and to the central PLC/SCAD system: This has a big advantage: The operator no longer has to go to the cylinder and manually operate a pneumatic distributor. On the contrary: The operator can check centrally whether the cylinder is open or closed and adjust it individually if necessary.
Reliable, reproducible processes
Digital field devices have great advantages. For piston actuation - to stay with the example mentioned - AirLINE Field valve islands are used, which are connected to a central gateway via the Bürkert System Bus (büS) communication interface, which in turn transmits its data to the PLC control system via Ethernet cable. In this way, permanent digital feedback is generated and, if necessary, error messages are transmitted, allowing you to monitor the system and plan predictive maintenance. The valve islands show you the process status with coloured LEDs and provide precise diagnostic messages and information about the end position via the LC display with plain text and icons. This ensures that an error is identified and rectified rapidly, while product quality can be determined correctly after malfunctioning. Thanks to check valves, process reliability is additionally guaranteed.
Lower operating and maintenance costs
The valve islands are always placed in the field where they are needed. A lower dead volume results from the shorter hose lines between the valve island and the process valve. This results in lower consumption of compressed air to operate the valves and faster switching and reaction times. This reduces operating costs while increasing process reliability. This is the top priority in process automation anyway and is supported by many other elements such as check valves and redundancy functions.
Low maintenance and downtimes
If a unit needs to be replaced, it can be done in just a few minutes. You simply disconnect the cablewhich is very easy thanks to the M12 plugs - and place the new unit in the system. You do not come into contact with electrical components in the process and therefore do not need a qualified electrician. The automatic device replacement function based on büS detects the component change and loads the configuration from the replaced device into the new one, which can go into operation immediately. This really quick and easy replacement can be carried out in a few minutes and enables faster, error-free recommissioning.
Hygienically flawless quality production
You must be able to clean the valves in your automated system regularly in order to meet the high hygiene requirements of your customers. That is why Bürkert valves consist of a stainless steel valve body that allows high-pressure cleaning, as well as diaphragms of the highest quality that can withstand strong cleaning chemicals. This makes ‘reject’ a foreign word. The fast, individually adjustable switching times also contribute to the production quality and speed.
Solution-oriented, objective consultation on valve automation
We listen to you carefully and analyse what you want to achieve with your application. For a customised solution, we combine intelligent concepts and various industrial protocols as required. If there is a more efficient, easier to install and future-proof alternative solution for your application, we can present it to you objectively and consider the pros and cons together. We offer you consistently decentralised, distributed and standardisable solutions, regardless of the system selected and the valve types used.
/ Customised automation solutions for your success / Our most important concern is that you are satisfied. That is why we take into account your individual situation as well as the requirements for the process step, the components and the production result and develop suitable solution options together. In the example shown here, the customer needs an automation solution for their extraction process in the production of sugar and sugar syrup. The customer’s ultimate goal: Increased process reliability and system availability Because up to now, the customer is still implementing an important functionality manually: changing the position of the conveyor belt's limits. Since the process does not take place in a closed room, weather-related influences such as humidity, cold and dust must be taken into account in this application. The evaluation of all customer requirements, functionalities and environmental influences shows that a decentralised automation concept is the most suitable solution, for which there are two interesting options.
Solution 1: Hygienic control cabinets with distance to the actual process
Sometimes environmental conditions are harsh. Dust, humidity, cold or heat can take their toll on automated systems. That is why Bürkert offers the "Hygienic Design" according to IP67 degree of protection in stainless steel. It is not only extremely resistant to cleaning agents, but also seals off the valve islands in the control cabinet against all environmental influences. In addition, the completely enclosed control cabinets, which are usually located relatively far away from the actual process, enhance work and process safety by preventing employees from accidentally loosening wires or other elements.
Solution 2: Small control cabinet and distributed devices directly in the field
The counter design is: as close as possible to the process. The smaller control cabinets of this solution require less space in the system and can therefore be placed in the immediate vicinity of the action. The field devices that are to benefit from the fastest possible valve switching times are also located there. Wiring and piping are particularly compact in this variant, so less compressed air is needed to operate the valves. At the same time, the automation system is extremely flexible: If further cylinders are to be connected at a later date, this solution allows for them to be easily and quickly integrated.
Advantages:
1. Com pletely enclosed control cabinets are removed from process for safety reasons
2. Val ve islands are perfectly protected from environmental influences in the control cabinet
3. Pro cess reliability increases, as accidental operating errors are excluded
Advantages:
1. Sma ll control cabinets can be positioned close to the field devices and the actual production process
2. Sho rt wiring ensures fast valve switching times and low compressed air consumption
3. The f lexible concept enables further cylinders to be connected at a later point in time
In the specific example, the customer chose solution 1 because his system is exposed to harsh weather conditions. Which is your solution?