ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 57 Mitsubishi Electric powered by a motor, the speed of which has to be controlled by an inverter, a total of 19 drives were required to complete this project. To deliver the high level of accuracy needed for this application, Mitsubishi Electric’s FR-E series was selected for the unit. Michael Cafferkey explains: “It is really important that the movement of the conveyor is controlled accurately so that a door doesn’t miss a stage or spends the wrong amount of time in any production process. For example, the duration of the gluing and pressing processes has to be incredibly precise to ensure quality. The FR-E inverter range is ideal to address these exacting needs, as it offers advanced motor performance, precise control and high levels of reliability. It also features a compact design, which can be beneficial when many units have to fit onto a single production line". To control the 19 VSDs, Pro le Developments selected Mitsubishi Electric’s iQ-R series PLC, which comes with inbuilt CC-Link IE Field Basic network protocol as standard, allowing quick and easy communications with all VSDs. In addition, the controller sends key information to an intuitive and user-friendly GT2510 widescreen HMI to maximise process visibility and accessibility. In effect, it helps operators monitor and interact with the drives, enabling adjustments to their speed when needed, helping to identify anomalies and interpret alarms as well as provide logs of production data. To ensure compatibility and seamless data transfer, Mitsubishi Electric integrated with an existing third party remote I/O station, leveraging its products’ ability to comply with different communications protocols and communicate easily over EtherNet/IP. Opening the doors to the future Mitsubishi Electric played a key role in implementing, integrating and assisting in the setup of the new production line, in particular by supporting PLC programming activities. The entire project was completed without incurring any downtime and, with the new line processing up to 12 doors per hour, Pro le Developments has tripled its throughput. In effect, while initially the plant in Glin could only deliver 8 units per hour, it can now produce 20-24 doors within the same timeframe. Uptime has also improved, as the HMI helps users to be more proactive, in line with smart manufacturing frameworks. John Barrett adds: “We are extremely happy with the solution delivered and the results obtained. Even more, we are very satisfied with the support received from Mitsubishi Electric, which guided us through all the steps of the project. This is why we value the collaboration with this automation solutions provider and look forward to working together again in the near future to develop more solutions to enhance our production processes.” Michael Cafferkey concludes: “We highly value long-term relationship with customers, such as Profile Developments, and strive to help them continuously advance and futureproof their operations by leveraging the latest innovations in automation. The new system that has been developed is driving the competitiveness of Profile Developments while also being scalable, ensuring that it can support the future needs and ambitions of the company." The new door press application line was is run by 19 Mitsubishi Electric’s FR-E series VSDs. Image 4: The new door press application line was is run by 19 Mitsubishi El ctr ic’s FRE series VSDs. [Source: Mitsubishi Electric Ireland] Image 5: To control the 19 VSDs, Profile Developments selected Mitsubishi Electric’s iQ-R series PLC. [Source: Mitsubishi Electric Ireland] To control the 19 VSDs, Profile Developments selected Mitsubishi Electric’s iQ-R series PLC. https://ie.mitsubishielectric.com/fa
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