Programming - Industrial Alchemy

PLC, SCADA and HMI Programming For Automation & Control Systems.

I am an independent programmer and control system designer of more than twenty years standing, and have experience of various types of PLC, SCADA and DCS systems.

Based on the edge of the East Midlands, I am conveniently situated to help your business, wherever you are located in the UK or internationally. I have worked as a programmer in the manufacturing sector, as well as the cable and umbilical machinery sectors, and in addition to programming, have been responsible for the concept and design of the both machines and the controls. I can also design and program HVAC systems of varying size and complexity. In addition, I have experience of programming control systems for subsea trenching tools – the machines that take a cable from storage on a ship to safe burial in the sea floor.

Programming services

Automation and controls
PLC programs – both new and modifications to existing ones
Machinery breakdowns – fault-finding or providing fault-finding assistance to maintenance staff
Upgrades or changes to existing systems
SCADA or HMI interfaces to existing control systems
Industrial control systems – discrete or touchscreen
Control system commissioning and installation – UK and overseas
Replacing obsolete or legacy equipment

Previous Services Include.

Extruder control and Data acquisition systems.

Previous experience includes the creation of extensive Extruder control and data acquisition systems, these control:

Extrusion temperatures
Melt temperature
Melt pressure
Screw speed
Screw power
Line speed
Product diameter
Product wall thickness

All the above readings are traceable to the product length. The product’s dimensions are logged and statistically analysed during production, and any anomalies are flagged to the operator for consideration. If necessary, action is taken to ensure the product does not exceed the engineering tolerances.

All the appropriate information for each production run is entered at the beginning so that the precious quality assurance information is correctly assigned and retained. This raw data, along with graphs showing the results of the production run, will be produced along with statistical analysis of the product.

In this way, data recipes are stored so that they may be recalled for repeatable, consistent future production.

This is an example of just one page of the production run report – the full graphical report may run to seven pages and demonstrates the conformance of the product.

Subsea trenching tool control.

A subsea trenching tool is used to bury a cable into the sea bed. I have commissioned, designed, built and programmed the control systems for many of these machines over the course of my career. If required, I can equip the systems with remote monitoring capability so I can provide ongoing support from my home in the UK to anywhere in the world. Indeed, from home, I have recently assisted a client in the USA with a repeat system calibration.

Multiple motor drive systems with motion control.

These systems, as their name suggests, are made up of multiple motors which work
together to produce product according to a range of operator assigned requirements. The control systems perform numerous calculations that control the different parts of the machines in order to consistently produce conforming product. I have been responsible for designing many of these complex control systems over the years.

Testpoint support.

My vast experience of programming and analysing SCADA and other data acquisition
applications using the Testpoint platform from CEC means I am able to provide ongoing support for your systems, including modifications to existing systems or developing new programs as per your requirements.

Your one-stop shop

I have been commissioning and installing machinery control systems for over twenty years, so I’m well placed to help you get into production. Get in touch to discuss your needs.

We're not a one stop shop.

With over 20 years experience installing and commissioning machinery control systems all over the united kingdom, and internationally, i'm sure I can help get you installed and commissioned, so you can get into production.

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