Using idle summer hours to get your electronics service house in order

NOT ALL AUTOMATION PROjects can be big. Not all projects can break ground with new technology. Not all projects can add percentage points to the plant floor productivity. Sometimes there is not enough money in the budget, not enough time (or maybe not the desire) to launch a significant automation venture.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t projects that electrical personnel can undertake. Whether you are a technician, a programmer, an engineer, or a leader, you know that there are always lots of little things that never seem to get done. So here are five project suggestions that might interest those of us in this fast-paced world. In fact, like the current trend toward cooking fast meals, these projects should be achievable in about one day each. That’s fast!
Update your info

How many times have you gone to do maintenance on something and found that you didn’t have the appropriate addressing information about a PLC or drive system? Further, what happens if you are the second or third person to work on the system and the previous people did not leave updated information? So turn your pain into a good one-day project.

First, establish a spreadsheet that records all PLC’s and drives by machine. If there are other electronic components such as process contrailers, temperature controllers, or displays that require programming, add these to the spreadsheet as well.

Once you have recorded all of the devices, make a trip to each machine and record or copy the appropriate programming information. For PLC’s, this requires ensuring a completely annotated PLC program that is up to date with the existing processor memory. For drives and controllers, this includes recording the parameter settings.

In order for this project to be truly effective, every electronic component must be recorded and the information about that component organized. Likely, this will lead to questions about equipment for which you have never had the full information, so you may see some additional research projects spawned from this particular oneday project. Now take this little project one step further and make a laminated copy of the recorded settings and information and attach this to the inside of the door of the control cabinet.

Check your connections

One of the largest sources of equipment failure, control cabinet fires, or other intermittent problems is the simple loose wire. That’s why a great oneday project is to organize a group to proceed through the facility in an organized manner, checking and tightening all electrical connections.

It is true that many machines are subject to significant amounts of vibration, causing connections to loosen up. A structured method of proceeding through the control panels and machine may be helpful. Start with the main power connections and proceed through the control panel connections down to the control circuit terminals. Where motor leads are exiting the control panel to motors or other loads, be sure those connections have not become worn with a risk of possible grounding.

Many end users are now learning the benefits of thermal scanning. A thermal scan is a process using infrared cameras to “view” electrical circuits in control panels and switchgear, as well as on machines, looking for hot spots.

This scanning process can really be accomplished while the machine is operating. In fact, this may be preferable in order to get the maximum loading.

Many thermal scanning companies will provide a detailed report as to the results of the imaging scan and statistically one catastrophic failure from a bad connection my more than pay for the thermal scanning effort.

These thermal scanning results can be organized and kept on an ongoing basis, giving maintenance a historical view of the electrical connections on the machine or switchgear. This fits in with the “loose wire” project, because a thermoscan often identifies power wires that are loose and causing excessive heat.

Reduce that heat

One of the biggest causes of electronic and automation equipment failure on the plant floor is heat. Even a power supply or a PLC when not even fully loaded, let alone overloaded, still generates heat.

It is normal for these electronic devices to dissipate this heat throughout the control cabinet and depending on the cabinet and the designer’s requirements, additional cooling capabilities may have been added to the enclosure.

Most industrial enclosures now have good sealing for dust and other environmental particles. However, the buildup of dirt on heat-generating devices limits the cooling capacity and then will cause premature failure.

Even though it shouldn’t happen, enclosure doors get left open and fans and filters get plugged up. This oneday project asks you to define a list of your plant equipment and electrical controls and then make a structured attack toward cleaning them and the cooling equipment of the devices.