Cummins improves plant flexibility on Siemens drive controls 28 March 2014

Diesel engine manufacturer Cummins says it has improved test cell availability and diagnostics at its County Durham production plant, since implementing a modernised drive control system.

Cummins plant manager Desmond McMenamin explains that the site was facing performance issues due to an obsolete dc drive.

Siemens solutions partner Cleveland Systems specified a Siemens Sinamics dc master drive and S7-300 PLC linked over a Profibus interface to provide the reliability and flexibility required – and to control an existing 37kW dc motor, which Cummins wanted to keep.

Tam Ashcroft, director at Cleveland Systems, says the Sinamic DCM drive was selected because of its ability to control the dc motor, while the plant's S7-300 PLC was expanded to receive analogue signals from the test station PC, connected via Profibus to enable full PLC control.

The system was programmed to allow variable cranking speeds for different engine types, with all parameters and faults displayed on dedicated HMI panels for test cell operators, he explains.

Data acquisition from higher level controllers is now far easier to obtain, and is helping to underpin operational efficiency improvements.

"The innovative solution we have delivered is based on Sinamics, which has given the front end a modern look and better tools for diagnostics, while blending with the traditional system architecture," comments Ashcroft.

"[Cummins] now has a fully supportable system based on Siemens TIA [Totally Integrated Automation] approach, and a modern drives system with full documentation, configuration and diagnostic software," ads John Inskip for Siemens Industry.

"For ease of use, all parameters, reference values and faults are clearly displayed, along with help texts on dedicated HMIs at each drive panel," he continues. "Drive commands and set points sent from the PLC can now be easily adjusted by Cummins engineers to provide increased production flexibility."

"The combination of a supportable, reliable and intelligent automated drive and control system, with its associated operational benefits, is helping us to drive our manufacturing operations forward," comments McMenamin.

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Cleveland Systems Engineering Ltd
Siemens plc

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