Food – Rheometer System – Unilever R & D, Bedford – 2021

Rheometer System

The Project

Unilever – Refreshment R & D site, a division of the multinational consumer goods company, tasked UCS with constructing a rheometer control system to monitor the viscosity of a cocoa based fluid at different speeds, for a trial machine. The machine had to monitor the torque produced by a drive system in response to an applied speed. We had not used this equipment for anything similar in the past, so was a learning experience for us.

Firstly, UCS worked with the client to understand the needs of the new system, working with several components provided by the client. The project also required a HMI so the machine could be configured and calibrated on site.

The survey produced a couple of concerns

• Could the supplied equipment handle torque monitoring?
• Could we format the data and export it correctly?

The new software had to take torque samples at different speeds and average them over time, then provide a transferable output for analysis on a separate computer. UCS determined this would need additional programming beyond the normal PLC software. The rheometer system needed to be capably of doing this repeatedly.

With the client’s brief, we evaluated their equipment and decided it could be used for the solution, instead of a more costly, but higher specification configuration.

In March 2021, UCS Automation tested and delivered the new control panel to site. We made some alterations to the software on the request of the client in order to better meet their needs. Further contact with the client have established the success of this project and the client has also indicated there may be a requirement for more of these panels for additional sites.

The Control System:

The client requested the Siemens S7-1200 line of PLCs, so our solution needed to use it too. They also supplied a Siemens V90 servo drive to be controlled via PROFINET. We decided to use a Comfort TP700 HMI, due to the ability to visualise and export trends easier than with the basic panels. We used the PROFINET protocol to issue commands to the servo drive and retrieve the required output current during running, minimising the wiring requirements. The Comfort HMI was a 7” colour screen, allowing the operator to control the servo drive and adjust required parameters. It also allows the operators to identify any sensor wire breaks and drive faults on the machine.

Construction & Commissioning:

So we could debug the control panel and software, it was put under test in the workshop before the site installation. The aim was to test various conditions, including different viscosity fluid. We also tested the exporting and formatting of the data files that the client intended to use for further processing on site.

UCS delivered the panel to site following a FAT test at our offices, with the client taking ownership on delivery. The client informed us they were very happy with the project and were putting together a business proposal for multiple systems over numerous sites.

Our Services:

We provided the following services for this project:

• Electrical AutoCAD design drawings. See our Design page
• Control Panel Manufacturer. See our Manufacture page
• PLC & HMI Software design. See our Software Design page