Modernization of Winder M3 – Retrofit of control components and drive controllers

For our customer in the manufacturing industry, our partner company SPIE ESCAD Austria realized a retrofit project for the winder M3. The goal was to modernize the control components and drive controllers of the system, ensure the availability of spare parts, and simplify operation for maintenance.

Challenge and Objective

The initial situation at the customer’s site was characterized by outdated control components and drive controllers, for which spare parts were sometimes no longer available. Some controllers could no longer be supplied regularly by the manufacturer, and the control components had already been discontinued. The goal was to make the system fit for the future again: in the event of component failure, it should be ensured that spare parts are available and that maintenance can easily operate and maintain the affected components.

Solution

The project was implemented by the control technology department of our partner company SPIE ESCAD Austria. Involved were the E-planning, a PLC programmer and a drive technician. On the customer side, the project manager and the experienced maintenance team were available as contact persons. At the beginning, the current status of the system was comprehensively recorded: PLC and drive projects were compared with the online data on site. Subsequently, a backup of the online statuses was created to secure the most current status for implementation. Existing circuit diagrams – digital and on paper – were compared with the system inventory on site. This was followed by basic and detail engineering: Since a complete re-creation of the circuit diagrams was not necessary, replacement pages were specifically supplied. The I/O assignment and the addresses were adapted to the inventory to ensure the connection between the new plan pages and the existing system. The software migration posed a particular challenge: the HMI was migrated from ProTool to TIA Portal, whereby the existing functions should be retained. The user interface was largely retained in order not to confront the operators with new processes. The control of the drives as well as the web travel of the films – including the setpoint specifications for speed, torque and web tension – is carried out via the PLC.

Another hurdle was to read out the control of the old drive controllers and transfer it precisely to the PLC in order to facilitate troubleshooting for the maintenance and to ensure the functional safety of the system. It was agreed with the customer to completely relocate the control of the drives to the PLC. After mounting the new components, the PLC and drive controllers were commissioned. After some optimizations in production operation, the retrofit could be completed within a few days – from disassembly and assembly to the recommissioning of the system.

Benefits

After implementation of the project, the customer has state-of-the-art control and drive controllers. In case of problems, components can be replaced immediately and easily, without delays due to missing spare parts. Thanks to the modernization, maintenance is much easier for the maintenance department and the system operates reliably and with future security.

These strengths of our partner company SPIE ESCAD Austria were used:

Smooth cooperation and high flexibility.
Sound experience in control and drive technology as well as retrofit projects.
Precise documentation and traceability thanks to detailed system recording.
Fast adaptation to individual customer requirements.
High customer satisfaction and reliability through practical solutions.

About our client
Our client is an international player in the plastics processing industry, developing both standardized and custom solutions for a wide range of applications.

Industry
Plastics processing

Thanks to the retrofit, the control and drive systems are now state-of-the-art. Failures can be rectified quickly and easily and maintenance has become much easier.

Michael Mair
Project Manager Control Technology
at our partner company
SPIE ESCAD Austria

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