References - EMIG Fruit Juices

Reconstruction and modernisation of bottlings plants


The bottler of soft drinks uses the reconstruction and modernization of its bottling plants in order, also for future requirements, to be equipped with the latest VIPA control technology.
New process control system requires new PLC hardware
With the integration of the new process control system Plant iT ProLeiT, at the latest, it was clear that the S5 control system previously installed at EMIG had reached its limits. Therefore a more powerful control system in terms of speed and memory was needed, with VIPA SPEED7 CPUs, they found exactly the desired solution. 140 digital I / Os and 15 analog inputs in the pasteurization process and bottling area alone presented no problem for the CPU 317SN/NET. On the contrary, also the connection to other decentralized signal modules via PROFIBUS and visualization linkage via the integrated Ethernet interface was child’s play for the CPU.

From bottle cleaning to palletizing -  all controlled via PLC

Before the actual filling process, the aseptic cleaning of the juice packaging cartons, glass bottles and PET plastic bottles in so-called pasteurizers is carried out. The VIPA CPU does all the controlling and monitoring of pumps and valves as well as the regulation of the temperatures, which lie in a narrow range of tolerance. Valves, flow meters, conductivity meters, frequency inverters, pumps and visualization are integrated in the control and regulation circuit. From the pasteurizers the packaging runs to the actual filling machine, which sets the flow rate and thus the speed of the juice production. It is fully automatic, because between pasteurizers and filling machine is a lively exchange of data through I / O interface.

But here is not the end for the PLC controller. The filled packaging now travel, automatically controlled by PLC, into the palletizer. Here they are labeled, fully automatically, and finally packed for transport in a foil wrapping machine, also automatically controlled by VIPA.

Unified control system for different requirements

Here VIPA controllers can show what they can really do. They are able to cope with the additional requirements of the communication sector, for example the extended process data communication and visualization, without any problems. With the VIPA 300S CPUs a universal solution for the various areas of deployment was found that met the expectations of EMIG, both in terms of the performance requirements of the control system, as well as in terms of design and price. Because of this positive experience, other areas of fruit juice bottling are to be equipped with VIPA technology

Technical report

Make 7 out of 5