“In the dynamic landscape of manufacturing, industrial automation stands as a beacon of progress by integrating advanced technologies to streamline efficiency in any process.”
This is the essence of Philco Systems, which we were able to showcase at the Mining and Technical Expo this past week.
The automation team developed an interactive demonstration for visitors who gathered around the meticulously set-up booth. The demo was indicative of basic control measurements used in all industries. However, the software and communication elements are where the magic happens.
The team used the New state-of-the-art Allen Bradley CompactLogix 5380 Controller with embedded Ethernet/IP as the brains of the operation. The controller was connected to an IFM Modbus IO Link Master. The teams high level of programming skills along with some old fashion elbow grease made it possible for these devices to communicate with each other. A level switch, Temperature sensor and Pressure sensor were connected as inputs to the IO Link Master and the IFM LED tower was used as the output.
Since the sensors were outputting to the same device, the Level switch was used as a button to toggle between the two sensor inputs. When the temperature sensor was chosen, the probe was placed into 3 jars containing liquids at different temperatures. As the temperature reading increased over the range of 10 to 60 degrees Celsius, the LED tower displayed a visual indication of the temperature, transitioning from Blue, to Green, Orange and finally Red. When the Pressure sensor was chosen, using physical force applied to the sensor, the pressure increased, so did the number of lights displayed on the LED tower, until a limit was reached, in which case the tower sirened an alarm.
Although this is a basic demonstration, it showcases Philco’s ability to seamlessly integrate various devices using various communication protocols over a single network.
Thank you to all who came by our booth and interacted with the team. We hope to collaborate with you going forward. Much appreciated.”
