by Gary Mintchell | Jan 17, 2022 | Automation, Process Control
Today’s email barrage brought Bill Lydon’s Dozen Automation and Control Trends. I haven’t compiled a “Dirty Dozen”, but this news from ABB Process Automation surely reflects a trend you’ve seen coming for some time. That is application specific solutions. The first I saw were specific packages for MES. Now libraries for specific applications of control and automation. I’m thinking these should be valuable to you. If you’ve found them less than helpful, you might send me a note.
ABB has launched its latest release of ABB Ability Sugar Library enhanced with new functionalities to serve as a control engineering inventory for sugar manufacturers. It will help to reduce engineering costs and development timelines, simplify expansions and eliminate errors in engineering and improve quality and reliability in operational use.
The release features a range of specifically designed templates for sugar process applications in beet and cane sugar industries. It fulfils all process area requirements including raw material handling, purification, crystallization and sugar handling, and now evaporation and filtration. Customizable templates will result in engineering efficiencies. For operators, efficient monitoring of process helps to optimize resources and energy usage.
A high-performance human-machine interface (HMI) has been designed for fast detection and resolution of process disturbances, with alarm messages. In maintenance, teams will gain the right information at the right time, with tracking and trends visually available. The auto-reconfigurable dynamic, high-performance HMI visualizations provided in the library for selected operations will greatly reduce the commissioning time and will also help plant engineers and operators to focus on continuous improvement.
Looking for another entrenched trend? Try sustainability. It’s everywhere these days.
Among sustainability advantages, ABB Ability Sugar Library features a steam economy mode that ensures no more steam than required is generated during the evaporation phase. It is also collected and reused for the crystallization phase, saving any fuel used to make the steam and therefore reducing production costs. The solution is built from knowledge attained through collaboration with major process and equipment suppliers and sugar manufacturers. This ensures that the latest process control philosophies are incorporated within the library. It comprises components for control and supervision, with each a complete functional unit ready for use and able to be adapted to specific user needs.
Sugar manufacturers can take advantage of ready-to-use templates with control schemes for not only vacuum pans and associated Brix control, but also for all other critical process areas including purification, evaporation and raw material handling along with associated process equipment. Library provisions include efficient boil up curves with customizable algorithms. Operators will experience improved control for steam economy, better shape and homogeneity for crystals, with alerts and data logging capabilities throughout.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 7, 2022 | Automation, Process Control, Technology
I wrote a piece yesterday about software defined control with a new German company called Software Defined Automation. I mentioned the Open Process Automation Forum in the piece. I have followed the developments of OPAF since its inception. It has made a lot of progress pushing the industry to accept a decoupling of software and hardware for control and automation. This effort is not unlike that undertaken years ago in the IT industry.
This effort was initiated within ExxonMobil, who remains a leader in the effort. You can check my latest updates here and here.
I recently ran across this piece by Harry Forbes, an ARC Advisory Group analyst, where he interviews some people from ExxonMobil.
At the November 2021 NAMUR General Assembly, ExxonMobil announced that they have internally approved progressing a field trial of an Open Process Automation system. The project will be engineered and started up during 2022-23. Previously, ExxonMobil has shared this decision only with the Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF), a forum of the Open Group that is developing the related standards and compliance processes. The NAMUR event was the first time ExxonMobil had shared this decision at an industry event.
In discussing with ARC, ExxonMobil emphasized that the O-PAS standard (Rev 2.1) was sufficiently close even if the standard does not address all of the objectives articulated for an Open Process Automation system.
ARC: Explain how the ExxonMobil OPA Proof-of-Concept, OPA prototype, and OPA Test Bed fitted in with this ExxonMobil qualification process.
ExxonMobil: The Proof-of-Concept work demonstrated the art of the possible as well as began the process of understanding the important requirements for products fulfilling the roles in the OPA Architecture. The Prototype project continued to push the usage of the open, standards-based technologies and further refined the feature requirements and implementation methods along with testing industrial product usage in these new ways. The Test Bed serves as a return to more basic R&D in the beginning, progressing to qualification of candidate technologies and products in preparation for the Field Trial project in the later stages.
The Prototype system was capable of being operated and beneficial to the Operators running a pilot unit and supportable (in the short term) by our R&D partners in that project yet was not a complete solution for a system that would be fielded for years of service. The Test Bed completes the supportable technology set and provides confidence that the system can be successful in the Field Trial, as this requires components and integration that meet the ExxonMobil quality and performance requirements for an automation system.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 29, 2021 | Automation, Business, Commentary, News, Process Control
The process control automation (Distributed Control Systems or DCS) market was ripe for consolidation. A few companies began to grow, most were candidates for acquisition. No company had a more voracious acquisition appetite than ABB. Part of its genius was the development of the 800xA platform designed as a way of bringing the newly formed empire together. It is now announced by ARC Advisory Group that ABB is the market leader for the 22nd consecutive year with about a 20% share of a $14 billion dollar market.
During 2020 ABB saw growth across key regions, despite the impact of the pandemic on the DCS market across industry. Energy transition and sustainability, as well as an upturn in DCS segments across the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology markets were key growth drivers for ABB.
The DCS market analysis and forecast report by ARC Advisory Group has been published annually for the past 40 years, with ABB consistently in the lead for more than half that time.
“ABB leads the field in DCS thanks to its domain knowledge in multiple industries, extensive service network, a continued investment in developing technology, loyal customers and digital solutions that meet rapidly changing customer requirements,” said Bernhard Eschermann, Chief Technology Officer, ABB Process Automation. “Much of our development is focused on advancing technology such as modular automation, select I/O and secure Edge integrated solutions which address new process and business challenges while protecting investments. We believe these type of solutions to be some of the catalysts needed for the successful implementation of industrial IoT and agile navigation within Industry 4.0.”
The recent launch of the latest version of ABB Ability System 800xA represents an evolution for automated control and plant operations of tomorrow. It is a process control system, an electrical control system and a safety system and a collaboration enabler, allowing further improvement of engineering efficiency, operator performance and asset utilization. In addition, ABB Ability Symphony Plus, is an industry leading DCS in the power, water and waste water markets and ABB’s Freelance offering is a DCS tailor-made for hybrid markets.
ARC’s report also highlights ABB Ability, ABB’s unified, cross-industry portfolio of digital solutions, which includes more than 170 Industrial Internet solutions and an Industrial Internet technology platform and cloud infrastructure. Drawing on insights across over 20 industries and more than 40 years of experience in digital technology, ABB Ability helps customers to develop new processes and advance existing ones by providing insights and optimizing planning and controls for real-time operations. These insights can then be fed into control systems like ABB Ability System 800xA and ABB Ability Symphony Plus to improve key performance metrics of plants and assets. With an installed base of 35,000 DCS systems across more than 100 countries ABB is a trusted leader in creating digital solutions for customers in the industrial space.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 6, 2021 | Automation, Process Control
Ever wonder about the reality of such buzz terms as smart factory, smart manufacturing, or digital transformation? I do. Then came this case study from ABB. It has been many years since I was around furnaces melting steel, but this example gives us some hints about assembling digital technologies.
The essential bullets:
- ABB Ability Smart Melt Shop digitally connects all steel melt shop processes and moving equipment to synchronize operations and improve production efficiencies, moving steelmakers towards autonomous operations
- The new digital application automates and optimizes ladle and crane movements in steel melt shops enabling metals producers to closely track and schedule the transport of molten metal from furnace to caster
- The solution has already been installed by JSW Steel Ltd, India’s leading steel company
ABB has launched ABB Ability Smart Melt Shop designed to increase melt shop productivity, save energy, and improve employee safety, with payback within six months.
Based on advanced digital algorithms, the new solution is unique in that it offers not only powerful real-time ladle tracking but also automated crane scheduling and a predictive thermal modelling engine. The tracking engine follows ladle movement via cranes and transfer cars in real time. Radar and laser positioning technologies provide accurate visualization while reducing hardware footprint and maintenance needs compared to radio-frequency identification (RFID) solutions. The automated crane scheduling includes job forecasting, route planning and automatic acknowledgement of jobs.
This will enable steelmakers to move towards autonomous operations by eliminating manual co-ordinations, with increased safety in hot zones due to lower footfall.
The thermal engine function uses ladle thermal history from the tracking engine and forecasted heat movement from scheduling engines to predict the thermal loss during ladle transfer and predicts the correct lift temperature at ladle furnace. This results in better superheat compliance at the caster, eliminating caster slowdowns, hence increasing productivity.
Ability Smart Melt Shop has already been installed by JSW Steel Ltd, India’s leading steel company, where it has been integrated into a wider expansion at Dolvi Works plant in Maharashtra state. It is expected to increase the company’s EBITDA profit by around $2million per annum through 4 percent higher casting speeds, time savings of one working day per month and additional output equating to 24,000 tons a year.
This application uses all standard communications protocols, employs ABB’s multi-layered defense-in-depth approach to cyber security and is compatible with both ABB and third-party systems.
Benefits include:
Productivity
- 4-5 percent increased casting speed due to better superheat compliance
- Reduced tapping delays, in EAF or converter due to more efficient scheduling of cranes for ladle movement
- Better ladle management and maintenance planning thanks to access to historical data on all movements
- Increased manpower productivity since no manual intervention or acknowledgement is required
Energy efficiency
- 5 degrees Celsius less arcing per heat (batch) in ladle furnace using thermal models to accurately predict target lift temperature
- Improved decision-making thanks to forecasting of ladle movements and crane schedules
Safety
- Increased safety with less footfall in hot zones which would otherwise be needed to manage ladle and crane movement
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 16, 2021 | Automation, Process Control, Technology
The “Subscribe” links goes to a MailChimp sign up page. I have stopped using MailChimp due to its obnoxious marketing tactics. WordPress stopped its service of sending a notice of updated posts. I am now using the Web page and email service of Hey, developed by BaseCamp. Please visit world.hey.com/garymintchell http://world.hey.com/garymintchell to register for the newsletter. There is no tracking or other privacy-invading tech.
Meanwhile, I’ll be speaking at the IoT Workshop of the Precision Metalforming Association and MetalForming magazine virtual IoT Experience. https://www.pma.org/iot/default.asp at 10:45 EST on November 17.
Festo Emphasizes Process Industry Solutions at Automation Fair
I have seen Festo in the past few weeks at Fabtech and Assembly shows. I didn’t think there could be more to show when I saw its stand at Automation Fair. But, there were a couple of new items to see. Here are the press releases.
Festo introduces the KDFP online configurator for quarter turn actuators and the CMSH smart positioner with HART communication.
Festo also features such process industry solutions as the VTSA-F-CB pneumatic valve manifold for PLd, (up to CAT 3 for PUS) safety; the CPX-MPA modular valve terminal for maximum valve flexibility; and decentralized I/O for less wiring, faster installation, and improved pneumatic system performance.
Online configuration tools
Festo now offers three process component online configurators – the KVZA for butterfly valves, the KVZB for ball valves, and now the KDFP for quarter turn actuators. These Festo configurators reduce the engineering time required for product specification from hours to minutes. Engineers simply enter application parameters into the tool and at the end of the configuration session the engineer receives a quote, ship date, configured product data sheets, and 2D and 3D CAD models.
Smart positioner with HART
Festo introduces the new energy efficient CMSH smart positioner with HART communication for process valves. Because of its high airflow rate, the CMSH is suitable for both large and small actuators in such applications as dosing, mixing, and filling. The CMSH offers extensive integrated functions for self-monitoring and diagnostics with clear recommendations for corrective action.
A single valve terminal for multiple safety zones
The VTSA-F-CB delivers up to Performance Level (PL)-d Category 3 for preventing unexpected start-up. The serial “C-Bus” plug-and-play integration lowers component costs and simplifies and accelerates the installation of pneumatic safety circuits, which are specifically for safe exhausting and preventive start-up. The VTSA-F-CB can dramatically reduce the number of components and time required to assemble a range of safety circuits. The solution provides Rockwell OEMs and end users the ability to control valves with safe switched power zones and to monitor integrated sensors for monitoring feedback via Ethernet/IP.
Control of 2 position or 3-15psi process valves with CPX/MPA/VPPM
The CPX-MPA valve terminal offers every standard valve function, including the cost/space saving dual 3/2 types. This is ideal for control of single acting process valves. Additionally, the VPPM can be used to control 3-15psi variable position valves. The combination of MPA and VPPM valves are electrically connected via a serial bus to EtherNet/IP, via the Festo CPX modular peripheral system. Using the CPX-MPA/VPPM valve terminal, OEMs can integrate on/off and variable position valves via a single Ethernet IP drop for less cost and quicker installation and startup.
New generation decentralized I/O
The new CPX-AP-I decentralized I/O system offers plug-and-play installation of over 80 I/O modules (2k of data), with cable lengths of 50 meters between modules bringing valves closer to actuators and improving response time. The system can export an L5X file for easy commissioning and parameterizing of the I/O.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 6, 2021 | Automation, Process Control
Process control system upgrades pique my interest, especially with respect to the work of the Open Process Automation Forum. So, when I received this one—ABB launches the latest version of its distributed control system, ABB Ability System 800xA 6.1.1, offering increased I/O capabilities, the agility of commissioning, and enhanced security as a foundation for digital transformation—I had to ask. Roy Tanner, ABB Product Marketing helped enlighten me considering that my ABB marketing contacts are now in England and communication is less frequent.
ABB Ability System 800xA 6.1.1 represents an evolution for automated control and plant operations of tomorrow, consolidating the technology pioneer’s number one leadership position in the DCS market. By increasing industry collaboration, the latest version of ABB’s flagship DCS enables decision makers to future proof their plants, making it an easy call to make.
I asked about customer interest in decoupling hardware and software in order to make upgrades less expensive and time consuming. Tanner replied, “I agree that there is a trend for decoupling hardware with software on multiple fronts as it brings a lot of value in various ways.” And he expands:
• One area, of course, is regarding virtualization which helps separate the PC hardware from software releases. As you know, our industry calls for longevity and stability and virtualization can help reduce the frequency in which customers need to update their infrastructure – which is not trivial. This is in addition to other clear maintenance and lifecycle benefits that can be realized.
• In addition, System 800xA supports LTS versions of software that match with MS …AND for System 800xA we support both the latest and previous operating systems. This gives our customers the ability to ‘update’ their systems online, over time rather than have the big “upgrade” which is usually scheduled with outages even though we support online-upgrades.
• Another is where we are trying to decouple I/O hardware design and software for more efficient, flexible project execution. As you may recall, we came out with the concept of xStream Engineering which is a fancy way of describing split -staging arrangements. We can install I/O in the field (or at an intermediate staging center or fabrication yard), configure the I/O, perform loop checks (even automated loop checks on smart devices), WITHOUT needing controller hardware site, and then send the results back to the project group doing the control strategy. This alleviates all the last minute project pressure and drama that results in increased project costs and delayed schedules.
• Check out our most recent release of our Ethernet I/O Field Kit and what it can do for smart commissioning tasks. That’s why you’ll see our tagline – “Ethernet I/O Field kit with xStream Commissioning”. Check out this site as you can see a video with a demo and read more. There’s also a link to our Select I/O virtual cabinet so you can learn more about Select I/O.
The challenge is that there is a shift in the traditional DCS architecture and even with a more modern, advanced System 800xA. We are taking on that challenge as it also meets our customer’s digital strategy endeavors as well. The challenge is how to help our customers reach their digitalization and IIoT goals without having to re-tool their existing automation infrastructure. We have embarked on this journey with a motto called “innovation with continuity”. By reshaping today’s platform approach to a NOA, OPAF, Modular – like architecture, we are creating the ultimate win-win scenario which I feel is different than some of our competitors.
• For our customers … with this new approach, we can provide today’s customer with a digitalization highway without having to change their chassis, tires, engine etc.,.
• For us … a faster time to market while keeping the process, safety, automation layer more stable.
