Automation of injection moulding machine peripheral equipment

The thesis presents the process of planning and implementing of a new software solution for programmable logic controllers and the upgrade of the label printing system. In the production process, controllers are used to automate peripherals along side every injection moulding machine and to communicate with superior systems. The existing software code is obsolete, undocumented and was not originally designed for the production process in the form that is carried out in the company today. The new program implements all the requirements of the current production process in a comprehensible way, is properly documented and designed in a way that will enable effective upgrades in the future. These properties are largely achieved by using the automata-based programming paradigm. The upgrade of the printing system is also described, which now allows printing of various labels. The thesis will first describe the elements of the system and how they are placed in the production process. Next, the basic concepts of working with controllers, the controller that we will use and the standard IEC 61131-3 will be described. The main part will describe the design of the new program, some of the more important algorithms from the code, and the upgrade of the printing system. Finally, documentation of programs for controllers will be described

Industrial applications of safety programmable logic controllers

V nalogi je predstavljena problematika varnosti v industrijskih obratih in standardi (IEC 61508, IEC61511), ki to problematiko obravnavajo. Predstavljeni so tudi koraki za izboljšanje varnosti z uvedbo varnostnih (SIS) sistemov v skladu z veljavnimi standardi na tem področju. V okviru teh korakov je v nalogi poseben poudarek pri analizi tveganja in izbiri ter implementaciji varnostnih krmilnikov. Podan je pregled najbolj razširjenih varnostnih krmilnikov in primerjava s klasičnimi krmilniki. Predstavljeni so trije primeri iz prakse: - sistem zasilne zaustavitve obrata v procesni industriji (proizvodnja peroksida), ki je izveden še z ožičenim sistemom SIL 4. - v drugem primeru gre za uporabo programirljivega varnostnega releja podjetja Reer, ki je vgrajen na lesno obdelovalnem stroju. - v tretjem primeru gre za Siemens S7 315 F varnostni krmilnik, ki skrbi za hlajenje peči. Za drugi in tretji primer je prikazano in opisano tudi programersko okolje ReeR Mosaic in Step 7. Ob posameznih primerih sledi tudi osnovna razlaga parametrov in prikaz programiranja v konkretnem primeru. V zaključku so opisane tudi pozitivne in negativne izkušnje pri izvedbi predstavljenih projektov. Poskušali smo tudi opozoriti na določene probleme s katerimi se srečujemo inženirji ob izvedbi varnostno kritičnih projektov.This thesis presents safety problems in industrial plants, and standards (IEC 61508, IEC61511) that address safety issues. In addition the steps to improve safety by using safety systems (SIS) according to standards in this area are introduced. In the context of these steps special attention is focused on risk analysis, and selection and implementation of fail-safe systems. This is followed by an overview of the most common fail-safe controllers and their comparison with standard controllers. Three practical examples are introduced: 1. emergency shutdown systems (ESD) of the plant in the process industry (production of peroxide). Safety functions are »programmed« with wired system (SIL 4) 2. the use of programmable safety relay »Reer« that is built on woodworking machine 3. description of Siemens S7-315F safety controller that is responsible for furnace cooling The second and third example also include the description of their programming environments ReeR Mosaic and Step 7. Each individual example is followed by a basic explanation of its parameters and programming presentation. Thesis concludes with the description of positive and negative experiences during the implementation of the three projects (examples) that are presented in the thesis. The conclusion also points out some of the problems that engineers are facing with when working on safety-critical projects

S7-1200 based control of a modular production system

Diplomsko delo v prvem delu predstavi avtomatizirano linijo, ki se nahaja v laboratoriju na fakulteti za elektrotehniko v Ljubljani. Stare krmilnike se je nadgradilo z novimi krmilniki Siemens Simatic S7-1200. Namen diplomskega dela je, da se izdela splošno obliko sporazumevanja krmilnikov med sabo in programi posameznih postaj v strukturiranem tekstu. V nadaljevanju smo se najprej razgledali okoli zgradbe in predvidenega delovanja linije. Nato smo si podrobneje ogledali programsko okolje TIA »Totally Integrated Automation« za programiranje krmilnikov. Ogledali smo si osnovne značilnosti in prednosti krmilnikov S7-1200. Ker se delo navezuje na komunikacijo med krmilniki po Ethernetni povezavi smo se dotaknili tudi protokolov za komunikacijo v omrežju. V veliki meri smo se osredotočili na programsko zgradbo posameznih postaj, katera je izvedena v strukturiranem tekstu. Komunikacija med več krmilniki hkrati je v osnovi vedno bila izvedena z Profibus komunikacijo, katera pa ima prenekatere težave, od zankanja povezav, pa vse do omejitve z dolžino. Zato nam je bila dodatna motivacija saj je zelo malo na spletu opisanega na to temo. Komunikacija je zasnovana po principu ena »manager« naprava ostale so »user« in pošiljajo podatke »managerju« kateri naprej razpošilja podatke do ustrezne naprave. Programe posameznih postaj smo napisali v programskem jeziku strukturiran tekst, s pomočjo »CASE« zank. Zaradi varnosti smo naslavljanje izhodnih vrednosti opredelili ločeno od glavnega programa. Uporabili smo varnostne pogoje, kateri so zapisali izven osnovnega programa in se neprestano izvajajo v ozadju, ne glede na stanje programa. Imeli smo nekaj težave od neznanja do fizičnih napak na liniji, vendar smo uspešno vzpostavili komunikacijo. S tem smo dosegli cilj podajanje informacije med krmilniki.This thesis presents the automated line, which was set up in the laboratory of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Ljubljana. Old controllers were upgraded with new Simens Simatic S7-1200controllers. The purpose of the thesis was to produce a generalized form of controller communication and the programs of individual stations in structured text. Furthermore we got to know the construction and the proposed concept of operation of the automated line. Afterwards we got a more detailed look of the TIA (Totally Integrated Automation) programming tool used to program the controllers. We got to know the basic characteristics and advantages of the S7-1200 controllers. Basic network connection protocols were also mentioned, because controller communication via ethernet connection is referenced in this work. The emphasis was on the program structure of individual stations, which was made in structured text. Interaction between multiple controllers at the same time was usually solved by using Profibus type communication , which has its share of problems, from connection looping to length limitations to name a few. This provided additional motivation, along with a lack of information on this subject on the web. The communication was designed on the principle of one "manager (master)" device and "user (slave)" devices. These devices send the data to "manager (master)", which in turn forwards the data/instructions to the appropriate device. Individual station programming was done using structured text language with the use of "case" loops. For safety we addressed the output values seperately from the main program. We used safety conditions, which are made seperately from the main program and are constantly running in the background, regardless of the state the main program is in. We encountered numerous problems, from lack of knowledge to searching physical errors/malfunctions on the line, but we have successfully established communication. By doing so we have achieved our goal of transferring data between controllers

Control of Lego Mindstorms NXT models with Siemens industrial controllers

The purpose of the thesis is to present a general solution for establishing connection between Siemens industrial controller and Lego Mindstorm models. Siemens industrial controllers allow several types of communication with peripheral devices, among those is also Ethernet communication over TCP/IP protocol, while older generation Lego Mindstorm models have more limited possibilities, because they allow communication only over USB or Bluetooth. In the context of the thesis we developed an communication interface, which allows physical establishment of communication between the Siemens industrial controller and Lego Mindstorms. The basis of the communication interface represents the Arduino microcontroller, where also program code was developed

Control of Lego Mindstorms NXT models with Siemens industrial controllers

The purpose of the thesis is to present a general solution for establishing connection between Siemens industrial controller and Lego Mindstorm models. Siemens industrial controllers allow several types of communication with peripheral devices, among those is also Ethernet communication over TCP/IP protocol, while older generation Lego Mindstorm models have more limited possibilities, because they allow communication only over USB or Bluetooth. In the context of the thesis we developed an communication interface, which allows physical establishment of communication between the Siemens industrial controller and Lego Mindstorms. The basis of the communication interface represents the Arduino microcontroller, where also program code was developed

Development of the system of auxiliary warning lights for emergency vehicles

V diplomski nalogi opišemo razvoj sistema pomožnih belih opozorilnih luči na intervencijskih vozilih. Služil bo predvsem za boljšo vidnost vozil čez dan, saj je močna bela svetloba bolj opazna kot modra, predvsem ob sončnih dneh. Za lastno izdelavo sistema smo se odločili zaradi relativno dragih izdelkov na tržišču. in večje prilagodljivosti sistema. V diplomski nalogi najprej pregledamo nekaj primerljivih izdelkov iz trga. Opredelimo zahteve našega izdelka in zasnujemo vezje. Pri načrtovanju smo se oprli na zahteve Gasilske zveze Slovenije, katerim morajo ustrezati modre opozorilne luči. Sistem je sestavljen iz krmilne enote, 3 LED modulov, in sicer iz 2 majhnih, kateri vsak vsebuje po 4 LED sijalke ter enega velikega modula, ki vsebuje 16 LED sijalk. Shema in tiskana vezja so bila so bila narisana v programu Altium Designer, program pa v programskem orodju Arduino. Predstavljene so enote vezja, opisana njihova funkcionalnost ter programski del. Na koncu je opisano osnovno testiranje sistema.The main purpose of this thesis is to describe the development of the system of auxiliary warning lights for emergency vehicles. It will serve primarily to improve the visibility of intervention runs throughout the day because the strong white light is more visible than the blue one, especially on sunny days. Since the products available on the market were too expensive, it was decided to develop the system on our own instead of purchasing it. In the thesis we first check some comparable products from the market. We define the requirements of our product and design the circuit. When planning, we relied on the requirements of the Slovenian Firefighters Association, with which warning lights must comply. The system is composed of the control unit and three LED modules, namely, two small modules each containing four LED lamps and one large module containing 16 LED lamps. The electrical scheme and the printed circuit boards have been drawn in the Altium Designer software and the program in the Arduino programming tool. The circuit units are presented, and their functionality and program part described. At the end the basic testing of the system is explained

Control of Lego Mindstorms NXT models with Siemens industrial controllers

The purpose of the thesis is to present a general solution for establishing connection between Siemens industrial controller and Lego Mindstorm models. Siemens industrial controllers allow several types of communication with peripheral devices, among those is also Ethernet communication over TCP/IP protocol, while older generation Lego Mindstorm models have more limited possibilities, because they allow communication only over USB or Bluetooth. In the context of the thesis we developed an communication interface, which allows physical establishment of communication between the Siemens industrial controller and Lego Mindstorms. The basis of the communication interface represents the Arduino microcontroller, where also program code was developed

Consensus algorithms in distributed SDN controllers

Software defined networks (SDN) promise greater flexibility, cost efficiency and easier management of network infrastructure by logically centralizing the control and abstracting network resources, but their wider use is inhibited by various challenges. In this master’s thesis, we explore the problem of ensuring high-availability of SDN controllers. It is a mostly unexplored problem which is also crucial with the implementation of software defined networks in production environments. Firstly, we present the concept of software defined networking. Doing so, we explore where their use has the greatest potential and identify various challenges which make their implementation difficult. We emphasize the problem of ensuring high-availability and the scalability of the network because of the centralized control plane and list as a solution the implementation of a controller in the form of a fault-tolerant distributed system. Following this, we study the limitations in design and the implementation of these systems. We focus on consensus algorithms as a key component in ensuring high availability. Following this, we present strategies with developing distributed controllers and explore which open-source implementations allow for their high availability. We choose the ONOS controller as the potentially most suitable for production use and analyze its architecture. With the chosen controller and the simulator of software defined networks Mininet, we establish a pilot environment. We develop a test framework for simulating scenarios that include various controller node and communication channel failures and analyze system behavior while doing so. Based on the results of the analysis we evaluate the chosen controller implementation based on ensuring high availability and give suggestions for improving the availability of the solution

Mobile application for the inventory of fixed assets

The aim of this thesis is to present the importance of effective fixed asset management. Companies are obligated to perform yearly inventory of fixed assets. Based on that they establish actual state of assets and ensure presentation of the correct status in the business records. For the inventory to be more effective, mobile application was developed, which enables transfer of responsibility of fixed asset management to an employee. The graduation thesis is divided into economic and programming part. At the beginning, the graduation thesis theoretically defines fixed asset management, description of relevant standards, description of software solution (IBM Maximo), and mobile application development. Theoretical part is supported by the user and programmable description of mobile application, which presents the key part of this graduation thesis. It describes the development of software procedure, used developmental environment, and certain code parts of the mobile application

Modular system for automatic control of buildings

In this thesis, we are going to describe a modular system for control of buildings with a wide variety of actuators. We will primarily focus on control of lamps and motor shades, and add general support for all sorts of sensors too. Human-machine interface consist of mobile application for operating systems Android, which connects to the control system. We are going to present and explain the system architecture including the description of the hardware and software solutions. We designed the system is such a way that it enables progressive integration in buildings. One of the main goals of the system is the suitability for installation in existing buildings by maximizing the use of existing control elements. We also assessed the cost of introducing such a system in an existing building