It’s Not Hard with Hardy

Glendinning is the largest independent supplier of quarry and concrete products both to the trade and direct to the end user in Devon and Cornwall. The company was established in 1958 by two brothers Ernest and Jack Glendinning, and today is owned by the founders’ families and is still very much a family business.

One of the most important factors in this business is being able to successfully move the products on the trucks from one place to another, carrying the right amount of product. However, this was an issue Glendinning faced.

Each of Glendinning’s trucks are supposed to carry 25 tons of product and the trucks are

measured on a weigh scale before leaving the quarry. It was found that they were not always carrying the prescribed amount of product, varying between extremes of 22 to 36 tons.

As it takes additional time to load and unload the product and travel around the site, the company saw an increase in time, running costs, fuel consumption and more.

There were also unseen costs of increased health and safety risks. Even though tipping product from a truck is not an exact science, there could sometimes be occasions which involve several ‘tuning trips’. Furthermore there is an axel loading limit on the trucks that should not be exceeded.

The weight readings being misread may have been due to the resonant vibration from the sorting screens, which runs through the steel work and affects traditional load cell readings. Ambient temperature variations change the properties of the belt which can further affect the weight readings.

Glendinning had previously attempted to resolve the issue. Initially the conveyor was fitted with a Ramsey International Belt Weigher. This had unreliable Modbus communications so the instrument was replaced by an Applied Weighing load cell amplifier. This only provided a 4-20mA output and required lots of PLC programming to give weight readings. It proved to be effective for static loads only, not offering enough updates/second to be used dynamically.

On hearing of the weight fluctuations, well-meaning operators attempted to ‘trim’ the dispensed amount. Unfortunately due to the random nature of the error this could sometimes exacerbate the problem.

Glendinning then got in touch with Routeco to help. Routeco proposed a Hardy Process

Solutions HI4050 instrument to be used with the same load cells and mechanics in place. The Hardy unit offers many advanced features including the ‘WaverSaver’ algorithm which is designed to mitigate the effects of vibration.

The instrument was installed with the ‘WaverSaver’ on its weakest of 5 settings 0.25Hz. The conveyor system dispensed mixtures of 9 different products, and in the 6 months that the Hardy instrument has been in use, the dispensed amount has shown only 1% variation for all weathers and products.

“It’s a pretty good set up, Auto Zero is set to ignore weights below 4kg as being belt variations.” said Carlos Moya – Hardy International Sales Coordinator.

The Hardy range is both easy to use and powerful, the WaverSaver feature has made a real difference here and Ian was able to set it up from scratch with no training.

There are other features that could be useful here too, with the load cells being high up and inaccessible maintenance and fault finding could be difficult. The Hardy Integrated Technician Summing Box provides remote switching of individual load cells making it easy to spot any faulty cells without having to leave the office.

Hardy’s C2 Calibration feature also allows for weightless calibration when used with C2 Load Cells. This is very useful when calibration is difficult or requires heavy weights.

To purchase the Hardy Process Solutions HI4050 click here. 

For more information email info@routeco.com or call 0370 607 1000.

Robert Stebbings - Automation & Software Product Sales Specialist

Machine Safety

With a comprehensive portfolio of machine safety products, systems and services, Rockwell Automation has the solution for you.

Working with Rockwell Automation can provide you with access to a world-class portfolio of safety products, systems and services that can help address your safety requirements. Just as importantly, Rockwell Automation have got the people who can help to make best use of the technologies available and the tools to support that deployment.

A safety supplier that understands automation and safety will:

• Help you get performance you need safely
• Offer a full range of services and solutions for safer automation
• Help you achieve conformity
• Give you the best tools to help you design, validate and deploy safety

For more information email info@routeco.com or call 0370 607 1000.

Industrial Electronic Repairs with Rockwell Automation

Meet your repairs needs quickly and conveniently with repairs services from Routeco. We offer a unique repairs solution with Rockwell Automation to repair any Electrical product no matter who the supplier, offering full warranty on the product, not just the repair. 

Working alongside Rockwell Automation, we are able to provide comprehensive repair services for over 200,000 items, from 7,000+ manufacturers. This provides you with a single source solutions for all of your electrical, electronic, mechanical, and servo product repairs.

Along with Rockwell Automation, we offer techniques used in the remanufacturing process to support quality repairs, these include:
> ISO 9001 and ISO 14001certified facilities
> Automated testing
> Full-year warranty
> After hours support
> Local representation

Quality has been integrated into every step of our repair process. We are your single source for service, providing repair on thousands of types and brands of electrical, electronic, mechanical, servo and robotic products.

You can view the list of manufacturers that we are able to repair here.

Check out the Rockwell Repairs video   

For help with your repairs, contact your local Routeco sales team: 0370 607 1000 or email info@routeco.com

Thank Routeco It's Friday!

Wearable Tech for Pets!

It’s not only humans who need some tender loving care but pets too! A smart collar for dogs and cats has been created that tracks the animal’s vital signs.

The pet wearable device enables continuous tracking of a range of vitals as well as any health-related behaviour. It keeps tabs on pets’ temperature, heart rate, body posture, calories burned and many others. It also comes with a smartphone application that pet owners, veterinarians and pet-care professional can use to monitor vitals before each appointment. It can also be used as a predictive device telling pet owners when it may be necessary to take their pets to the clinic.

Aside from keeping track of vitals and monitoring behavioural changes, it can also be used to keep track of pets that are in recovery stage or recently discharged from care. Vets can monitor the progress and identify any adverse reactions as soon as they develop.

As our love for pets keep growing, the American Pet Product Association, estimated $47.7 billion was spent on pet products and services in 2010. And since 1988, having pets at home has increased from 56% to 62% and 46% of their households have more than one pet.

With these new pet-health wearable devices, taking care of man’s best friend has never become more handy, efficient and convenient with the help from technology.

Would you buy a smart collar for your pet? Let us know your thoughts.

Have a great weekend!

Roya

The Implications of EN/ISO 14119 Safety of Machinery – Interlocking devices associated with guards

As with all new standards, there is the uncertainty of does EN/ISO 14119 affect me? When does it take effect? And do I need to do anything? I’m sure you have all read endless articles by various people highlighting minor points which can sometimes be taken out of context and can lead to potentially misinterpreting the content and may cause you to miss some of the principles that the standard is trying to bestow. No standards should ever be considered in isolation, which is why they cross-refer to other standards, to maintain as the name suggests, “a standard approach” rather than reinventing the wheel every time.

This standard highlights many new things to be considered regarding the classification of types of products and some positive reworking of the old EN1088 standard, which has been in place for many years. In my experience there are two main points regarding safety system design to be considered, which are detailed below;

1. Wiring of multiple dual channel door switches in a Category 3 wiring architecture. It has been recognised for a long time that it is possible to mask faults leading to a potential failure of the safety system under certain conditions. In your design you now have to account for this and the reduced diagnostic coverage will affect the validation of your design in ISO13849 and IEC62061. The publishing of ISO/TR24119 will offer some clarification on this, and this openly available leaked table will give you an idea of the implications. Key point to consider – are the doors opened more than once per hour?

2.Guard locking has always been a contentious area and this standard certainly clarifies all of the issues. My approach has always been ‘power to release’ for personnel protection unless the risk assessment deemed it to be unsafe as this presented addition risks, so using ‘power to lock’ was a better solution. If it was just to protect the process from uncontrolled intervention then either type could be used. There was also the unwritten law that if you were using a switch for personal protection it needed to have a holding force in excess of 1000 newton’s. This always prompted the question of how much force is 1000 newton’s when applied to the handle to open the door. The good news is, apart from the clarification of personal and process locking, this standard has a table showing all of the maximum forces that you could apply to a door. It is in Annex1, Table 1 (click here) and it is worth purchasing the standard for this information alone, as it will be a major benefit when you are completing your risk assessments and guard door design. It certainly highlights the fact that a number of safety switches on the market should only be sold for process protection, rather than personal protection as they have been in the past.

I am sure that the standard will affect you in some way and it is important to note that the full implementation date is February 2015. I would strongly suggest that you start to design your systems to comply with this standard now, as February is not far away and gives you chance to deal with the teething problems of the design changes that will no doubt ensue, before they become compulsory.

Watch a video on safety interlocking devices here or for more information on the EN/ISO 14119 click here.

Click here if you wish to purchase a Guard Locking Switch.

If you require any further information or wish to discuss your machinery safety systems with one of our specialists please contact your local Routeco branch. Alternatively email info@routeco.com or call 0370 607 1000.

Kevin Kirby – Routeco Safety Solutions Team Leader

The Anybus CompactCom B40

The Anybus B40 brick is part of the CompactCom series which also features the chip and module. The B40 brick is a high-performance network interface in brick format.

The B40 is ready made with software and hardware to communicate between your device and any industrial network, you just need to add network isolation and your choice of connector.

With the B40, you have the freedom to add your own connectors (DSUB, RJ45, M12 etc). It is especially well suited for demanding industrial applications requiring very fast data transfer. The B40 is ideal for device manufacturers who are looking for a semi-integrated solution where connector flexibility, size and cost are key elements.

The B40 is mounted on the host PCB to enable communication with the chosen network.

Key benefits of the CompactCom B40:

• The software and hardware are a ready made solution for network connectivity
• Integrated Anybus NP40 network processor
• Full connector flexibility 
• Able to attach the brick when needed

For more information email info@routeco.com or call 0370 607 1000.

Rockwell Automation Price Review

With effect from 24th August 2014 Rockwell Automation will be implementing a price review.

This is not a uniform change and therefore some products will be increased in price and some products will be reduced. 

A copy of our new price list can be downloaded from here 

All orders placed after 22nd August 2014 will be subject to new prices. All orders placed before or on 22nd August 2014 with deliveries specified for a date later than 22nd August 2014 will also be subject to new prices

Regrettably, where prices have been increased, these changes are necessary in order to continue providing the quality products and services that customers have come to expect. They reflect costs in raw material, labour and shipping.

If you have any concerns and wish to discuss these changes, please contact your local Rockwell Automation or Routeco Account Manager.