Special machine construction with automated electrical planning

Keller HCW GmbH, a global manufacturer of complete plants for brick production, has optimised its design processes. Using the “EPLAN Experience” concept, the company now uses an ultra-modern CAE platform, which permits largely automated generation of schematics. This makes working on the very large plants that Keller HCW plans considerably easier. Eighty control cabinet fields each with a width of 120 cm: The control technology of a typical plant produced by Keller HCW in Ibbenbüren near Osnabrück takes up this space. The company projects and constructs complete turnkey plants for the production of bricks. The automation technology of the plants fulfils very high requirements on innovation, integration and the continuous flow of information – from individual handling devices or ventilators to the top (control) level.

State-of-the-art automation technology for a well-known product

There are several good reasons for this. The plants produce very large quantities of bricks, meaning a high degree of automation is mandatory. The process is energy-intensive: After all, the firing temperatures are between 950 and 1400oC. This makes precise regulation necessary for efficiency reasons – and for quality reasons, as the temperature and processing windows are very precisely defined. The degree of handling of brick production is also very high: Robots stack the dried bricks on the kiln car and also stack the finished products on pallets after firing and cooling. The process and automation technology from Keller HCW controls these processes and maps them exactly, quite literally: The visualisation of all the workstations and the entire flow of material is exemplary. For example, traffic light functions indicate whether individual plants, components and processes are working in the “green area”. These traffic lights conceal extensive automation technology, which records and evaluates the torques and temperature of drives, for example. The electrical planning and software programming is just as complex. So it is no surprise that the company also develops software solutions for other sectors of the process industry, such as food processing.

Transparency on all levels

That brick production is the trendsetter of automation technology can be explained by the high competitive pressure that dominates the industry sector. Dipl.-Ing. Josef Schröter, head of electrical engineering says, “The reliability and availability of the plants is a central criterion. The operators are often multi-national corporations with lots of brick factories. They want to be fully informed, always have an overview of the operating parameters of all the factories and be able to immediately recognise any irregularities or failures so that they can be proactive.” This means functions such as factory networks, condition monitoring and teleservice are firm components of the projects carried out by Keller HCW.

Continuous planning through all subsections

As is usual in classic special machine construction, the developers design every plant according to the user’s requirements. To do this, they use a new system for electrical design: The nine workstations are equipped with EPLAN Electric P8 and EEC One. And as one should expect from a specialist in automation technology, the planning processes themselves are also automated to the highest possible extent. Josef Schröter says, “We have combined the individual CAx tools into an integrated solution. The data from the mechanical design is passed on to the electrical engineering department by means of interfaces. The electrical engineering department then creates schematics with the highest possible degree of automation. Their data, in turn, is processed by the programmers, who work with the Siemens TIA platform. An interface to the ERP system, i.e. to materials management, ensures really consistent processes without media disruptions or manual inputs.”

Schematics are generated with the highest possible degree of automation

An important element of continuous plant planning is the EEC One, a system for the automated creation of schematics based on an Excel user interface. The design engineer initially enters the basic parameters, such as the mains voltage, into a table. Then he selects components from a list, such as “Drive 3 kW” or “Drive 75 kW”. These components are recorded as complete modules or macros with – in the case of the motors – circuit breakers, frequency converters, contactors, terminals, wiring and PLC control. The design engineer must then only give the command “Configure” and the schematic circuit diagram of the module is then integrated into the current project. Not only does this make electrical planning considerably easier. It also allows the constant updating of recorded component data to be avoided, as this data is loaded directly from the EPLAN Data Portal.

Prerequisite: Good preparatory work

However, these advantages can only be used if the relevant preparatory work has been done. Dipl.-Ing. Peter Overmeyer, electrical designer at Keller HCW says, “We have virtually dissected our plants and formed sets of values for the individual components, which we entered manually.” This effort should not be underestimated because the individual components, such as the 7.5 kW drives are used in a large variety of versions.

EPLAN Experience Integrated optimisation of design processes

EPLAN Consulting supported the Keller HCW electrical designers in developing the product structure and “granulating” the components used. The integrated concept of the “EPLAN Experience” was used here. The basis of the “EPLAN Experience” is professional detail engineering, during which the CAx tools are used optimally. On this basis, the user can create optimisation potentials in the three task fields of basic engineering, design automation and configuration.

Result: 80% automation degree, high standardisation

What is the result of this optimisation work? The design engineers have planned the first plant using EPLAN Electric P8 and EEC One and the result was considerably quicker. Josef Schröter says, “The EEC One facilitates an automation degree of about 80%. This is all the more astounding as we are a real special machine construction company and do not work with the construction of variants. Instead, the plants really are designed from scratch.” Another effect that was desired from the onset is the higher standardisation of the plants: As the design engineers use the macros in EEC One, the components recorded there are always used. Not only does this make the design easier. It also facilitates costings and procurement. In addition, the entire process is accelerated from the concept through to placing of the order. Peter Overmeyer says, “As we now work on a consistent platform, the flow of information between the subsections and also to the sales department has improved. This saves coordination effort and increases the degree of transparency, even for the customers.”

Higher flexibility in human resources planning too

A pleasant “side effect” of the new design tool is the improved human resources planning. Josef Schröter says, “As EPLAN has a high market penetration, it is easier to find qualified electrical designers – we have already confirmed this in practice. In addition, as a special machine construction company with inconsistent work cycles, we are dependent on being able to outsource design tasks when necessary. This is also easier if EPLAN is used.” In principle, Keller HCW relies on a high degree of in-house manufacturing: Not only is all mechanical engineering carried out at the headquarters in Ibbenbüren, control cabinet engineering and wiring are also completed here.