New mill processes twice the wheat
Integrated Architecture provides remote control for Moulin de Verdonnet.
A traditional French nursery rhyme tells the story of millers who fell asleep and lost control of their mills – an oversight that ultimately led to a disaster. In order to avoid any such possibility, Moulin de Verdonnet – the Verdonnet mill, which used to rely heavily on manual labour to ensure its operations ran smoothly – engaged Rockwell Automation to automate its processes. As a result, the millers at Moulin de Verdonnet can sleep soundly, knowing that their mill will process 300 tons of wheat every day without any assistance.
Moulin de Verdonnet is a family business employing approximately fifty people. The company has a strong regional base serving large food processing manufacturers, as well as local bakeries. The existing mill had been in operation since the 1980s and had been partly automated, allowing for a processing capability of 150 tons per day. As the business developed, Moulin de Verdonnet decided to build a new mill to replace it. The goal was for the new unit to be able to process 300 tons of wheat per day.
Moulin de Verdonnet decided to invest in a new system of control, monitoring and traceability. The system needed to allow the mill’s facilities to be managed automatically and remotely, and enhance its performance. It needed to be available and scalable and designed to last.
Rockwell Automation was brought on board, with just four months to develop the application. Individual pieces of equipment already in place had to be used and integrated, with some new features to be developed and others improved.
Moulin de Verdonnet could allow a week for the operations to be switched to the new mill, which was expected to start running at full capacity immediately, with no interruptions to delivery schedule. This was a real challenge.
“The design of both hardware and software allows for important savings in wiring and maintenance costs.” |
Simple and consistent, the distributed system is designed to minimise wiring and reduce the risk of breakdowns |
Communication is performed via ControlNet field networks. For optimum availability, Ethernet TCP/IP networks are also duplicated. Furthermore, in order to reduce the design and development time and to make future interventions easier, the programs were developed in “object” language, thanks to RSLogix 5000 – the programming environment of the 61131-3 compliant Logix controllers. These programs can be modified while in use.
Traceability
Rockwell Automation also developed a total production traceability system based on SQL Server. All data is stored and regularly saved, including wheat’s origin, cells used, type of collection and destination.
Any faults spotted by the system are communicated to a duty operator via phone. The operator can then take relevant action, all via a simple phone line. If a fault occurs at night, the mill owners can switch the control to manual without leaving their home, and choose what measures to apply in order to manage the incident, thanks to a supervision device installed in their home.
In less than a week, the new mill was processing 300 tons of wheat per day and has since been running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The control system is able to start and stop the mill’s machinery, which enables the mill to benefit from the reduced rate electricity |
The Rockwell Automation solution has met all the millers’ expectations, in terms of potential for scalability over time, adoption of communication standards (Ethernet, Modbus, Profibus and DeviceNet), simplicity, and availability of the architecture. The solution also allows Moulin de Verdonnet to cater to more customers.
The control system has also delivered noticeable energy savings. It is able, upon reception of a signal from the electricity company, to start and stop the mill’s machinery without any outside assistance. This enables the mill to benefit from the reduced rates offered by the electricity company outside of peak periods.
As one of the most automated mills in the world, Moulin de Verdonnet’s facility represents a successful union of an age-old trade and advanced technologies |
The design of both hardware and software allows for important savings in wiring and maintenance costs. In addition, the production downtime has been estimated at three minutes in over three years!
From an operational point of view, the focus is on comfort, responsiveness, autonomy and flexibility. A single operator can monitor both the quality and the management of the mill’s production, whereas four are usually needed in a conventional mill. Three mouse clicks are enough to switch almost instantly from one production to another, and fulfil new orders much faster.
Today, Moulin de Verdonnet is one of the most automated mills in the world. The mill represents a successful union of an age-old trade and advanced technologies. People from all over the world regularly visit this superb showcase.
For more information, please e-mail us at: info_at@ra.rockwell.com with ref: Moulin
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