Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2022 - MD-12

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Ginning Up a Modern Automation Platform
O
ne major invention associated with
the Industrial Revolution was the
cotton gin, developed by Eli Whitney in
1793. This machine - the term " gin " is
a contraction of " engine " - significantly
increased cotton production efficiency
by automatically separating the useful
fibers from the seeds, which is otherwise
a difficult manual process. Although the
basic function of cotton gins is quite old,
today's versions can benefit further from
modernized control systems (Figure 1).
Cotton gins, like many other types of
production equipment, rely on drive motors,
solenoids, hydraulics, various mechanisms,
and instrumentation to monitor
and control operation. Operators need
an easy way to visualize operational performance,
make any required changes
to settings, and access diagnostics.
It is important for all industrial equipment
to run reliably for long periods of
time, and even more so for equipment
like cotton gins which operate seasonally.
As the harvest comes in, equipment
runs around the clock to process the
cotton because any downtime can create
large and problematic production
backups. When evaluating automation
hardware and software, it is therefore,
important to choose platforms offering:
* proven performance for industrial
operations
* easy programming for initial development,
commissioning, and future work
* comprehensive communications options
* features like analog scaling on the I/O
modules to minimize programming
and simplify maintenance
* dependable online and phone support.
* ready product availability.
There are quite a few options on the
market for automation platforms, but
after years of experience in the field
we have learned which products lead to
success.
Modern Features, Traditional
Reliability
For both new and retrofit projects,
we have had multiple good experiences
using AutomationDirect programmable
logic
controllers (PLCs), human-machine
interfaces (HMIs), variable frequency
drives (VFDs), and many associated
devices. Recently, when an original
equipment manufacturer (OEM) client
12
Figure 2: For this cotton gin automation retrofit, an AutomationDirect BRX Series PLC, GS2 Series VFD, and
other associated instruments and components were selected based on their leading price-performance ratio
and ready availability. (Image: Design Automated Controls)
came to us with a relatively fast-track cotton
gin retrofit project, which needed to
be completed before the harvest began,
we knew where to look as we started selecting
products.
Control panel design was relatively
conventional, and we chose the
AutomationDirect GS2 Series VFD and
other electrical components (Figure
2). However, the real decision revolved
Motion Design, August 2022
Figure 1: Cotton gins were invented over 200 years ago, but today's versions benefit greatly from applying
modern PLC and HMI technologies to new and retrofitted machines. (Image: Design Automated Controls)

Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2022

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