Maybe you have heard before about terms such as the Modicon Quantum series, but you do not know what they mean. In this article, we will explain more about such terms and how Schneider Electric helped develop the Georgia Pacific production process.
Founded in 1927, Georgia Pacific is known to be one of the leading companies in the field of manufacturing and distribution of several products including pulps, papers, building materials, and several chemical products. By 1957, the company started building a pulp and paper mill. In 1994 the company invested more than $100 million in the factory to decrease its dependency on woods and to use materials that are recycled. Nowadays, 60 percent of the used materials are recycled.
The company has more than 61000 workers who work in over 400 sites spread across 11 countries.
The application is a management system for the major pumps on the paper machine of number 2.
The pumps provide the water needed for the procedure. The current management process is composed of the Modicon 800 series platform. They owned one ledge with a 984-685E with four distant I/O drops. The existing network uses a single wire topology employing RIO criteria. The issue with such a kind of control system is that there is no security net if something shuts down. It is an essential part of the procedure because with the absence of water they fail to make the core for the paper. If the pump shuts down, the entire procedure will also fail.
As this part is essential in the entire procedure, the customer decided to develop the control system to get a higher percentage of accuracy and redundancy. An issue that Schneider Electric experienced was that the client took a decision stating that each new project should have a programmable logic controller (PLC) device. They did not own any Modicon Quantum system in the factory. So the goal was to inform the client about how easy it is to integrate with the existing control platform.
The solution to a customer’s problem in such a case was to employ the Quantum Hot Standby system using the current 800 series I/O. A wiring system utilizing dual channel distant I/O heads on the processors and the drop was also suggested- Document Number: DarrenBlankenshipCRN.pdf © 2004 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved.
This will provide the accuracy of a Hot Standby system and the redundancy of a dual-wire system. The other problem is that the client did not have any additional Quantum system. Therefore, Schneider Electric provided the company with additional parts for a competitive price. Schneider Electric offered dual-channel J890s for the 5 drops and changed one of the 800 series ledges. They also bought a dual-channel CRP head for the Quantums, as the Hot Standby tools offered single channels.
The client was afraid that their software would not be compatible. After many conversations, the client decided to use Schneider’s system as well as a site license for ProWorx programming software. The company enhanced the project in cooperation with the system integrator and distributor.
This project gave new life to the relationship between Georgia Pacific and Schneider Electric. As the benefit of this work goes beyond the personal benefit of one party at the expense of another. The customer did not know that Schneider Electric has several competing products in the market. This gave Schneider a higher competitive edge among other companies. The product has contributed to the development of many projects and strengthened the bond with the company. As the project’s results were very reliable. This helped improve performance and reduce losses during the production process.
For more information about the Modicon Quantum, you can visit the MRO Electric official website.
