Colour lines
Colour lines
KeywordsAutomotive, Plant, Software, Water-borne
Durr UK of Warwick has also been awarded a large contract to upgrade the control equipment at the Vauxhall Motor's "Vectra" production facilities in Luton.
The contract covers the installation of Durr EcoScreen graphics systems, which will bring the two main colour booths up to the same specification as the recently installed third line. Work on Colour line 1 was completed during the summer closure and Colour 2 will be completed during the Christmas break.
The work involves replacing ageing PLC equipment with new generation controls and associated process software. In addition to providing enhanced booth control functions, the upgrade introduces state-of-the-art technology that is readily adaptable to process changes and conversion, at a later date, to water-borne technology.
The Durr EcoScreen system utilises "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" graphics rather than tabular data presented on earlier generation systems. Simple to use, it is mouse driven,which avoids the need for constant operator head movement from screen to keyboard.
One of the first impressions for visitors to an automotive paint shop is a sense of regulation and rhythm. The conveyors provide a steady beat as vehicle bodies move through the different processes.
Manual involvement is still apparent, especially in the inspection and monitoring of the paint application process. For a typical paint plant there are something like 300,000 parameters that can affect the performance of the plant. Many are interrelated and will depend on conditions which can change during the course of a single shift.
Keeping watch and optimising such a process to achieve consistent high quality results would be a daunting task without some form of computer management system. Durr's solution is a graphics control interface and process database called EcoScreen.
EcoScreen system has been designed to interface with all current machine PLC controls as well as standard instrumentation input/output devices, allowing it to be used as a common operator control panel which can be used throughout the entire paint shop,linking conveyors, paint mix, application machines, robots, booths, ovens etc.
Operators are presented with a Windows-style control panel with simple pull down menus to guide them through the various set-up functions.
The system is structured into functional blocks for tasks such as body profile data calculations,parameter tracking, axis control for reciprocators and communications. All set-up operations can be carried out on the screen.
EcoScreen can also be used during installation and commissioning, and during development to test "what if"scenarios and try out different body styles. When a plant is up and running it can monitor and improve performance. It can also be modified easily to deal with vehicle design changes or new models.
For further details contact APT Division, Durr Limited. Tel: 01926 418800; Fax: 01926 400679.
