Upgrading grain plant to PLC controller

[FBain4532]

I'm looking into modernising my grain plant on the control board side of things, Running elevators and conveyors through 3 control panels (relay logic) at the moment and would like to look into streamlining this into one PLC touch screen. Has anyone done this and could recommend a company to be tasked with this job?

 

[FBain4532]

@Brisel @Clive

 

[PostHarvest]

Sounds as though you are looking for a SCADA system? Its the sort of job that Kings and Barnham of Thetford or Coldcurve of Inverness can do. Probably won't be a cheap job though.

 

[FBain4532]

The current set up is becoming a clutter with recent add on's and feel PLC with the ability to remote monitor would allow use to reduce labour requirement, would rather have the existing plant running 24hours a day as opposed to spending £200K upgrading drying plant capacity.

 

[Brisel]

Thanks for the tag, but I’m not sure if I can help much on this. A chap in Yorkshire by the name of Graham Potter can monitor and control his drier via an app on his phone. He has been in Farmers Weekly a few times. I don’t know if he is in TFF though.

Is this your kind of thing @grainboy ?

 

[grainboy]

No sorry, most of my work is removing older systems,

 

[Clive]

Not PLC but we have just had some changes and update made to our system

Allmet did the work

 

[Hjwise]

Bread and butter for Roomfoss in Kings Lynn. Where are you?

 

[Dennis]

Think it’s the sort of thing Devizes Control Systems might do, they have done a few jobs on ours system.

 

[eagleye]

if your going for touch screen buy two and keep one spare as it is often difficult to get an exact replacement.

 

[Derky]

Devizes control systems are the boys. They have done the bulk of our plc work.

 

[Brisel]

My previous set up had control boxes made by Devizes Control Services. They are good. Had a bit of a wobble when the main man retired but back on form now.

 

[PSQ]

Had our current install put in with an expensive PLC in 2003. It ran very well and efficiently, right up to the day we had torrential rain and a north wind, which blew water under flashings and into the control box killing the PLC in the process.
That model of PLC is no longer made, we now run the system in 'manual' mode

 

[jorgenbg]

Im building a new grainstore at the moment. I ordered a complete enclosure with PLC from a company which only make electric panels. Its about half price compared to buying it through the dealer of grain store equipment.

I just sent the spec of all the motors I need to control and the switches I will use. They then build it an connect everything down to terminals. So easy to connect field devices.

Biggest reason I do it this way is because I want full control over this, and Im a bit of a geek. My cousins new grains store would not work because of some programming glitch, and it took days before they fixed it. During busy harvest I dont have patience for that.

And if the HMI(screen) would stop working, then you just control everything with a computer instead.

I chose Siemens PLC. Just because internet is full of information and tutorials of Siemens. Not the cheapest and probably not the best.

A PLC guru told me to go "soft plc", which means you just have it on your computer. He said its much cheaper and more options.

 

[MikeNeaverson]

I've used a few grain handling systems, and if I were doing anything with my own money, I'd do everything the old fashioned way with proper switches and relays in a well designed panel like Clives. Allmet do a good job IME. A PLC will be fantastic for five years, then it will break, you won't be able to buy a new one, and you'll end up putting a manual panel in anyway.

 

[sjt01]

if your going for touch screen buy two and keep one spare as it is often difficult to get an exact replacement.

Touch screens are overpriced. Get the HMI installed on a PC, with an easily transferred software key. The screen will fail long before the PLC. We replaced the Rockwell PLC on our digester with a Mitsubishi ourselves, as the licensing on the Rockwell was a nightmare. We update the program most weeks, as the digester finds a new way to fail quite regularly.