Where will they put PLC's next?

A coworker of mine, who is into sailing sent me this story on a racing yaught that uses a PLC.
Too bad the story doesn't go into more technical detail.

At least the boat was built in a good place. Will ring and see if I can find out more about the "Process" Logic Controller.

Where will they put PLC's next?

I imagine some day someone will put a PLC on a toilet.

Oh,wait, they already did that.
http://www.engineeringtalk.com/news/mib/mib156.html

Alaric said:

I imagine some day someone will put a PLC on a toilet.

Oh,wait, they already did that.
http://www.engineeringtalk.com/news/mib/mib156.html

Click to expand...

I couldn't help but notice this in the article:

"Each pump house is retrofitted with an A1SH PLC."

What does the "SH" suffix stand for? Sewage Handler?...



-Eric

Thats one beautiful boat.

Look around the archives on this link

http://www.wasp.navy.mil/

for articles about the green deck. The switching between fluorescent and LED lighting and the intensity level of the lighting is controlled by a PLC.

gbradley said:

A coworker of mine, who is into sailing sent me this story on a racing yaught that uses a PLC.
Too bad the story doesn't go into more technical detail.

Click to expand...

The one detail I was impressed with is 30 knot in a 40 knot wind - and that was just for a transit. A real test of sailing (we do it every year) is to sail in very light wind. That is one set of skills at the other extreme is sailing in 40 knot wind. I thought I could cook up some hi tech stuff for sailboats but this one has me beat hands down. Of course mine could probably fit inside her.

Them NZ guys are no slouches at design and sailing.

One brag - a boat I was on beat America Cup II (?) here in Seattle lite wind summer sailing first they got trapped in a doldrum then forgot it takes more than 8 feet of water for an 8 foot keel. Local knowledge helps a bunch.

Dan Bentler

Actually I did a small PLC (a MicroLogix 1000) back in the first America's Cup campaign in Auckland, that took a bunch of instrument readings, did some number crunching and sent them back to shore via a DataLink Ethernet modem. It was very simple and robust and worked fine for that time around.

Based as I am in Wellington however I did not pursue the work further, but locally based guys In Auckland have done a bunch of excellent boat automation since, and are now an integral part of a worldclass boatbuilding industry based out of NZ.

Hmmm
Food for thought and study??
Somewhere I read that the dairy cow (maybe all cows?) are the single greatest source of methane. This is obviously an untapped energy source.
NOW THEN
In addition to the manure digester used to produce methane
IF
we had a gas collection system on each cow,,,,
COntrol parameters
1. pressure at suction pump / cow interface.
2. Pressure in collection tank / (bladder?)
3. Pound of feed consumed by cow
4. Cow ID #
5. Gallons of milk per cow (already recorded elsewhere)

DATA collection based on above
Volume and BTU content of gas per cow per day?
BTU emitted by cow per pound of feed?

Now I suppose we may as well collect the solid and liquid waste too

UH OH think I am getting complicated again.

Maybe I should go back to the Electric Vehicle project.

Dan Bentler

Too late, Dan. David's already doing this...

See THIS post...



-Eric

Eric Nelson said:

I couldn't help but notice this in the article: "Each pump house is retrofitted with an A1SH PLC."
What does the "SH" suffix stand for? Sewage Handler?...

Click to expand...

Way back in the dark ages, one of my first generator set engine-control and switchgear projects was for a Sewage Treatment Plant. The "temp" that was typing up the job specs on a IBM "electric" (1972) mistyped one of the common options.

The engine "SHUT Down Timer, was typed as a SH*T down timer, well, is was a sewage treatment plant.

Fair typist, very poor proof reader, but she was cute.

Interestingly enough, Ozzies have been using PLCs on boats for a long time. Some 18 years ago I received a radio phone call from a catamaran "parked" off Sydney heads. They had a remote I/O problem and were "unable to proceed". We sorted them through that. Bad cabling and noise in the remote I/O line.

Most of the catamarans that are built in Tasmania and Perth are PLC controlled to some degree. Couple of massive Ruston diesels per common shaft with 1 shaft per side. These things are sent all over the world - massive catamarans. Lots of horse power.

Another job I was actually involved in was for the Sydney Harbour ferries. A plc was used to monitor the tidal flow rate, fuel flow and adjust the speed of the diesel engine and propeller pitch for best fuel economy.

The one detail I was impressed with is 30 knot in a 40 knot wind - and that was just for a transit.

Click to expand...

Have you heard about the absolutely high tech yachts on Sydney Harbour? We call them "18 footers". They are a shell, usually carbon fibre etc, with huge sails. The crew hang over the side on a trapeze to keep them from tipping over. They alledgely can sail faster than the wind in certain circumstances. I do not know enough about it as I am not a yachty. By the way, an American crew either won or ran second in the last series. You may see them over there one day. Kiwis are here sailing them too. Known as the F1 of sailing craft. No PLCs. A former "Cup" sailor Iain Murray was responsible for first using carbon fibre and sandwich construction in these things and it is now used everywhere. He was also among the first to use Kevlar for the mainsail.

Thats one beautiful boat.

Click to expand...

Built in Sydney Ozz.

SH*T down timer

Click to expand...

Have typed that one in my symbol descriptions many a time. Still do occasioanally.

Eric Nelson said:

Too late, Dan. David's already doing this...

See THIS post...



-Eric

Click to expand...

Eric
Dave is using anaerobic digester to produce methane. Good idea.

My idea was to capture the methane at the source ie (bovine flatualnce capture retention system).


Dan

There was a Job that was tendered by the military up here in Canada to retrofit a couple of friggits, All the navigation/propulsion was done by modicon PLC,

That was last year...

D

What is meant by that?

darrenj said:

There was a Job that was tendered by the military up here in Canada to retrofit a couple of friggits, All the navigation/propulsion was done by modicon PLC,

That was last year...

D

Click to expand...

A PLC is not the right tool for a navigation system.

I have done some ocean sailing up and down to coast of Washington State. We had a Raytheon nav system that had GPS, Radar, depth sounder and auto pilot. I doubt a PLC could do any of that.