2.5 High-Speed Discrete Control SystemSponsored by Emerson Process ManagementCreated by: Lacey Latour, Andrew Roess ler and San Nguyen

Purpose• Design a high-speed discrete control solution that could be used to

demonstrate how Emerson could replace a programmable logic controller (PLC) with their DeltaV system.

• System Requirements:• Discrete input to output in 5 – 50 ms

• The input is the switch to turn on the conveyor and the output is conveyor• The sensor is read as a analog signal this is also high speed from the time the sensor reads

the color till the actuator extends• Must be movable and fit on a rolling cart.• Must be controlled by a PLC.• PLC must be replaceable by Emerson’s DeltaV system.• Maintain a budget of $3,000 - $5,000.

Proposed Solution• Design a sorting system operated by a programmable logic

controller.

• System Hardware:• (1) Conveyor Belt• (1) Vibratory Feeder• (1) Linear Actuators• Colored Blocks

• Black and White• (1) Color Sensor• (1) Programmable Logic Controller: Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400

High-Level Design• Blocks will be manually placed into the vibratory feeder’s tray.

• The color sensor will be placed towards the bottom of the feeder.

• When the blocks are fed, the color sensor will read each block’s corresponding color and relay this information to the PLC.

• If the block is white, the actuator will then extend and the block will follow the extension to the correct positioning on the conveyor

• If the block is black, it will stay In the same place on the conveyor

• Once the blocks have reached the end of the conveyor, they will then fall into their associated bin

Block Diagram

Figure 1: High-Speed Discrete Control System Block Diagram

Bill of MaterialsItem Quantity Part Number Part Name Price Total Price

1 1 6C Drive Vibratory Feeder $360 $360

2 1 2"x8" SS Tray $271 $271

3 1n12UN/115-2A-HW-NSF

Control$288 $288

4 1HDA2-2 2.00" Stroke

Linear Actuator $130 $130

5 1ROB-0953 Line Sensor

Breakout $2.95 $2.95

6 140-08048-R-D U4 RS-100N-20-31

Conveyor$1,553 $1,553

7 130-7270 Electrical

External Control Cable

$26.20 $26.20

8 1 30-7071 Stand $47.86 $47.869 1 40-7031 Bracket $12.78 $12.78

10 10 BLOCKS Wooden Blocks $10.00 $10.00

Total Overall Price: $2,701.79

Hardware Specifications (1/5)• Dorner 1100 Series Mini-Conveyor

• Purpose: means of moving each block from the vibratory feeder, through the linear actuators, then to each block’s color-respective bin.

• Purchased as a set including: • Conveyor

• Extrusion

• Driver

• 15 ft. External control cable with option to enable I/O

• Features:• Flat Belt End Drive

• Conveyor height: 1.50”

• Belt Width: 8” (203mm)

• Conveyor Lengths: 48” (1219mm)

• Loads up to 15 lbs. (6.8 kg)

• Voltage: 115 V

• 60 Hz

Figure 2. Dorner 1100 Series Mini-Conveyor

Hardware Specifications (2/5)• Eriez 6C Vibratory Feeder

• Purpose: Means of holding and supplying the blocks to the conveyor.

• Features:• Feed Rate: 1250 lb./hr.

• Tray width: 1-1/2”

• Tray Length: 12”

• Overall height: 6-3/8”

• Voltage: 115V AC

• Amps: 1.1

• Noise level: 70 dB

• 3600 Vibrations per minute

Figure 3. Eriez 6C Vibratory Feeder

Hardware Specifications (3/5)• Servocity HDA2-2 Linear Actuator

• Purpose: Means of pushing each block into its necessary position on the conveyor.• Potentiometer wires will be responsible for positioning the

blocks correctly on the conveyor belt.

• Features:• Voltage: 6.0-12 Volts DC

• Operating speed (12V): 2.00” second at No load

• Operating Speed (12V): 1.37” second at Max load

• Dynamic thrust (12V): 25 lbs. thrust

• Connector wire length: 24"

Figure 4. Servocity HDA2-2 Linear Actuator

Figure 5. HDA2-2 Linear Actuator Wiring Diagram

Hardware Specifications (4/5)• Sparkfun Electronics – Line Sensor Breakout (Analog)

• Purpose: Senses the color of the block that is fed from the vibratory feeder.

• Features:• Analog output (varies depending on the amount of IR light

reflected back to the sensor)

• Dimensions: 0.30 x 0.55 “ (7.62 x 13.97 mm)

• 5VDC operating voltage

• 25mA supply current

• Optimal sensing distance: 0.125" (3mm) Figure 5. Sparkfun Electronics Line Sensor Breakout

Hardware Specifications (5/5)• Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400 Controller

• Purpose: Responsible for processing the color sensor’s input data and relaying output commands to the conveyor and linear actuators.

• Features:• 120 V Power distribution

• 12 V Power Supply

• 5 V Power Supply

• RS232

• 8 point Analog Input Expansion

• 20 Discrete Inputs

• 12 Relay Outputs

Programmable Logic Controller

• The PLC used was a Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400• It then used Allen Bradley RSLOGIX 500 Software

I/O Points

• Discrete Input: • Power Switch

• Discrete Output:• Linear Actuator• Vibratory Feeder• Conveyor Belt

• Analog Input:• Line Breakout Sensor

Program

Sensor Scaling

• The sensor reads from 0-5V with white being lower voltage

• We used PID (proportional-integral-derivative) scaling

• -10V to 10V is has input minimum to input maximum at 0 to 16,383

• Since we were just wanting 0 to 5V, we had to adjust the input min and max - making 0V 8,192 and 5V 12,287

• The scaled Minimum to Maximum is the percentage of 0V to 5V with 0 being 0V and 100 being 5V

• The efficiency goes up by 20% for every volt

Next Program Step

• Once the switch is turned on, the conveyor will start automatically

• After the switch has been turned on, the feeder will have a delay time of 5 seconds before starting

Last Program Step

• Once the feeder and conveyor have started, the sensors output will be read

• If the efficiency is below 50% (under 2.5V) the actuator will then extend for 10 seconds

• If the efficiency is above 50% (over 2.5V) the block will continue down the conveyor

Maintenance Issues• Downloading updated firmware to the PLC.

• Replacing fuses and relays in the PLC

• The conveyor belt will need preventive maintenance work, such as: lubricating bearings and monitoring belt tension.

Stretch Goals and Possible Upgrades• Wire to Unitronics PLC

• To program the DeltaV system and be able to test the switch from PLC to DeltaV

• To use our HMI on the PLC to also show the visuals of the conveyor and block color

• Possible upgrades:• Larger conveyor which could allow a wider range of block colors.• More linear actuators allowing more assortment.

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EMERSON

PROCESS MANAGEMENT FOR GIVING US THIS

OPPORTUNITY!!!