Hi everyone.
I'm completely new to Arduino controllers but I've worked in automation and maintenance for 15 years.
Where I work we recently had a quote for a data monitoring system to cover about half the site at first and it was just over £55,000. I know I can't create the same but I'm looking to create a couple of basic data loggers on certain assets to see where we go from there.
The site I work at cuts metal (laser cutters) and then creates finished products with those parts.
The first project I would like to complete is measuring the nitrogen usage per sheet per product that we cut.
I've looked into data logging the mass flow, but it's 29bar pressure to each of the laser cutters so there are not many options out there working at that pressure.
My next thought was to do it non invasive and through calculation. I know the set pressure for each product in the machines internal regulator. I can retrieve the pipe bore size from the manuals and I'll need to know the time that the nozzle is open for during each cut to work out the total gas usage per sheet.
So my concept was to use an Arduino to receive the nozzle open signal from the PLC with voltage dividers to step it down. Then send this data directly to a PC. Say creating a new file every 24 hours. Then this raw data could be imported into Excel in order to be graphed. I would then like to go a step further and possibly create a user interface using something like MS Access to make this easily accessible to others at work.
Is this concept possible in your experience? Like I said I've never used Arduino controllers before but I'm very adapt to learning and have a passion for automation.
If this is possible then I can role it out to as many machines as I wish and using different inputs I could collect all sorts of important data that could help understand where our inefficiencies are at the moment.
Cheers Steve
Your idea looks well-founded to me.
I wonder how nitrogen support is managed at that site. A big repository must be refilled or gas containers must be exchanged - when will that happen?
We have a nitrogen generator but only a storage bank of 12 large bottles. We run the system up to 300 bar and regulate it down to 30 bar to site. When it's low we swap it over to bottle banks from BOC. Thing is no one on site has a clue of how much we use and were getting a new tube laser installed at present with a lot more capability than the current one so the nitrogen usage is going to go up.
I'm just really interested in creating usable data from all our machines because the first stage of improvement is knowing where you currently are and the data will tell us that.
Cheers Steve
Stevie3488:
Where I work we recently had a quote for a data monitoring system to cover about half the site at first and it was just over £55,000. I know I can't create the same but I'm looking to create a couple of basic data loggers on certain assets to see where we go from there.
The site I work at cuts metal (laser cutters) and then creates finished products with those parts.
The first project I would like to complete is measuring the nitrogen usage per sheet per product that we cut.
If the purpose of your project is the first part of a piecemeal approach to produce a cheaper alternative the the £55k quote I would strongly urge caution.
I know that it seems infuriating to have to pay some "expert" £55k for a system based on parts that might be acquired for £5k. But an industrial / commercial situation is altogether different from a personal DIY project.
- How reliable will the system you create be?
- Who will be able to repair it when you are not available? (Suppose you become permanently unavailable?)
- How long will it take to repair when you are not available?
- How much will the lost production cost?
A large part of the reason why professional systems cost so much is the availability of after-sales-service and repairs using parts that are familiar to professionals and readily available.
For even a simple DIY system I would not be surprised if it took a good professional programmer a couple of days just to familiarize him/herself with the DIY system before s/he could even start to repair it.
Another big problem for a small business that does not have a professional IT team is the possibility (likelihood) that senior management may agree to an inappropriate system simply because they don't know enough about the subject - until it bites them where it hurts.
...R
Mass flow meters are available. That is the first step.
Quality sensors may seem expensive, but are well worth the costs.
Hello, thank you for replying. Yes I fully understand the advice given about a professional solution created by an expert. I am looking more into just getting a prototype built that can data log any input I program it to. However this information is not going to effect production in anyway and is completely non invasive. It is simply to gather the information over the site to highlight where the downtime is and try and increase the uptime. At present there is no focus or control over the laser cutters production other than if the job is held up further down the line.
We do have a dedicated IT department who would be more than willing to help integrate any system onto our intranet so I would get support there.