I was responsible for maintaining the library of current code to be used in new systems while developing innovative new features and programming and installing new equipment for customers.
New Features Developed
I personally developed many of the most innovative new features, several of which were featured in marketing communications and sold as add on retrofits due to the value added to the customers.
Roll Clean Mode to Improve Safety
Programmed a new mode that rotates rolls in the same direction to reduce the hazard from pinch and pull while cleaning. Also reduces maximum speed and torque. The chrome rolls in plastic extrusion systems present a difficult challenge for safety that’s difficult to balance against the practical needs of production.
Alarming for Heaters with Current Monitoring
Previously, an add-on option was sold which would add analog inputs that display amperage drawn by heaters on a screen.
- Warn about blown fuses or failed heaters to make maintenance tasks easily apparent
- Shut down to prevent a runaway solid state relay (SSR) from causing damage through uncontrolled heating.
Soft Start Heaters to Prevent Damage
Some particular types of electrical heaters are prone to absorbing moisture from the air, which can cause a short and damage the heater.
PLC Tag Generation from Electrical Schematics
Converts DXF schematics created by electrical engineers to Allen Bradley PLC Tag Aliases while embedding electrical information like wire numbers, page numbers, and cables numbers into the descriptions. This radically improves in-program documentation while making it easier for a new project to be set up. Read more here
HMI Alarm List Generation from PLC Code
Takes a PLC program export and automatically creates alarms based on documentation in the program. This ensures that all alarms are created and exactly match the description expected by the program.
On a typical system, around 7,000-15,000 specific alarm messages are generated. This alarm list generation guarantees accuracy of the message on the screen to match the code, and encourages adding new helpful messages by making the process as painless and easy-to-maintain as possible. With modular code, the messages can be as detailed as loss of a particular single channel of a dual channel emergency stop circuit. Read more here