23/10/2024
An automated bread line for Crelem Bakeries 🍞
Our partner Belmatic asked for our help with a project for Crelem Bakeries. We needed to revamp and automate their bread line at Vermaut's Boerenbrood in Lendelede. The installation needed a retro-fit due to several stoppages and breakdowns. At the start, the plant was controlled by an S7-300 PLC with associated HMI and various drives. Our project was sold at the beginning of 2022, but long hardware delivery times made it a major challenge to keep the breadline running in the meantime. During this period, we had to reprogram parts of the machine using temporary PLCs.
The hardware was finally available in early 2023. We immediately got to work and in a short time the electrical cabinet was built by our partner Belmatic. We were able to complete the conversion of the bread line in a weekend. This enabled the customer to resume production with a completely new controller and control cabinet.
But how does such a renewed process work? The baking process starts by placing the dough rolls in the baking moulds. These moulds are then automatically transported to the proofing cabinet. The temperature and humidity in this cabinet are kept optimal and controlled by our control system. After proofing, the forms proceed to the oven's feed, where a pneumatic control is used to place the forms in the oven. After baking, the fresh rolls roll out of the oven and are automatically removed from the moulds to be transported further for packaging.
Of course, easy controls were also considered. To improve the customer experience and make it easy to diagnose machine malfunctions, we opted for a floor plan showing all parts of the installation. This provides a clear visualisation of the production line and minimises downtime. As the production line is in quasi-continuous operation, it is crucial to keep downtime to a minimum.
During realisation in TIA Portal, the choice was made to include the complete drive configuration and diagnostics. This allows diagnostics of each drive to be performed on the HMI. If necessary, advanced diagnostics can be continued in TIA Portal.
We used the following hardware:
- ET200 SP - CPU 1510 SP
- HMI Unified: MTP1200
- Drives: G120C