bottle filler

Hi all
I have to come up with a ladder diagram for a bottle filling operation in a winery. I'm not an engineer and this will be the only time I ever have to do this. Yes it is an assignment, I have completed most of it, but this bit is giving me some trouble. Can anybody help?
Thanks
Anne

anniel said:

I have completed most of it, but this bit is giving me some trouble.

Click to expand...

Anne

If you post what you have done so far, then we may be able to offer more specific help.

Paul

Hi, From your profile it says you are a student winemaker. Why would they require you to be able to make a ladder diagram for a bottle filling line. Could you post the full question or assignment details here; something does not seem right. By the way what uni (college) is it. Regards Alan

Alan and Paul
Indeed something is not right. Why would they expect this sort of thing, except that it's 'busy work' as part of winery engineering. We had a 50 minute lecture introducing PLCs and 'looked' at a PLC box in the lab. Originally we had to describe a process that is controlled by a PLC, eg. a press or refrigeration system, but this was changed to a) why are PLCs popular in wineries (that's the bit I've done) and b) draw a ladder logic diagram for an automated PLC controlled bottle filling operation. BTW the university is Curtin in Australia, and for the most part, the course has been tremendous.
Regards
Anne

Anne

I am not sure how you are expected to draw a ladder diagram for a bottling plant (however basic) if you do not know a thing about PLC's, apart from them being a box that you have had a look at.

Are you sure that they want a ladder logic diagram and not a flow chart? I would ask your tutor for comfirmation of what he/she actually requires. It might be the case that you are required to do a bit of research so that you have an understanding of each stage of the wine making process, not a technical ability to be able to program your own plant.

Asking a non-engineering student to draw a ladder logic diagram is a bit much!

If it turns out that you are required to write a small logic program for a bottling plant (which I very much doubt) then I would suggest that you click 'learn PLC's' at the top of this page for Phil's tutorial, that will give you an idea of how ladder is done, that way when the helpful participants in this forum post some ladder for you, you might be able to understand it.

Paul

Hi Paul
Yes, I am looking through the tutorial now. And yes we have to do a ladder logic diagram. Not the whole bottling plant, but the filling part. Everyone is tackling it abit differently. Some are just filling the bottle to set fill height, others are moving the bottle into position then filling, then moving it on. The logical process as far as I can see goes like this:
1. Flip/flop circuit to start machine, conveyor belt on
2. bottle in position sensor --> fill apparatus moves into place and seals onto bottle neck (seal is needed for most bottle fillers)
3. Seal sensor on --> wine is pumped/ released from a tank to the bottle --> need height detector (of wine in bottle) or volume detector
4. Bottle full sensor on --> fill apparatus releases clear of bottle --> conveyor belt turns on and bottles move one position ie. full bottle forward, empty bottle now in position
back to 1. I am trying to work through this. Any help is most appreciated.
Regards
Anne

Anne

What you have posted in your reply is a good starting point for you, using Phil's tutorial I am sure that you may be able to give it a go.

This will get you started

 



Rung 1 (turn plant on and latch until stop button pressed)



    Start     Stop   Plant on

-----| |---+---|/|-----( )

           |

  Plant on |

-----| |---+



Rung 2 (run conveyor until bottle is in position)



             Bottle in    Run

  Plant on   Position   Conveyor

-----| |-------|/|---------( )





Rung 3 (when bottle in position, move filling apparatus into position)



              Bottle in   Run Fill

   Plant on   Position    Apparatus

-----| |---------| |---------( )

Now that is very basic, but it might give you some ideas on how to get started, I find that drawing a flowing chart out also helps in this situation.

Good luck with this,

Paul

Hi Paul
Yes, I think your diagram will help alot. I will acknowledge your input. Thank you very much
Regards
Anne

Anne

If you get stuck at any time, post your attempts here and we will see what we can do to help you out.

Give it a try though, you never know you might find another career to follow if the wine making doesn't work out.

Paul

P.S - a free bottle of Aussie wine would go down a treat!

Paul
I have worked out how to get the bottle full and move the conveyor one position for a new bottle, but am not sure how to write the last rung so that it returns to the first rung.

Rung 4 (when filling apparatus is sealed, run filling)

fill apparatus run fill
Plant on sealed bottle
-----| |-------------| |------------( )



Rung 5 (when bottle full, remove filling apparatus)

bottle run remove
Plant on full fill apparatus
-----| |-------------| |------------( )



Rung 6 (when fill apparatus clear, run conveyor one position)

fill apparatus run
Plant on clear conveyor
-----| |-------------| |------------( )

Does this look right?
Regards
Anne

PS. bottle of Australian wine is a distinct possibility, do you like red or white, sweet or dry?
A

Crikeys, my last post looks like a dog's breakfast, obviously haven't got the hang of using the ladder diagram-writing mode. Sorry, I have to go now, will try again tomorrow.
Anne

anniel said:

Paul
I have worked out how to get the bottle full and move the conveyor one position for a new bottle, but am not sure how to write the last rung so that it returns to the first rung.

Rung 4 (when filling apparatus is sealed, run filling)



                fill apparatus      run fill

    Plant on        sealed           bottle

-----|  |-------------|  |------------(  )







Rung 5 (when bottle full, remove filling apparatus)



                     bottle          run remove

    Plant on          full           fill apparatus

-----|  |-------------|  |------------(  )







Rung 6 (when fill apparatus clear, run conveyor one position)



                   fill apparatus     run 

    Plant on         clear           conveyor

-----|  |-------------|  |------------(  )

Does this look right?
Regards
Anne

PS. bottle of Australian wine is a distinct possibility, do you like red or white, sweet or dry?
A

Click to expand...

I have edited your post in my reply so that it looks right.

The last rung is not a problem for a PLC, it knows it's at then end of the program so it will automatically return to rung 1. What you have written should satify your tutor, after all you do not need to be exact with your programing, I think what you have written would suffice for a wine maker, well done!

Paul

p.s
red would be lovely, but I think the cost of shipping one to blighty would be too much, as a winging pom I would not pay it.

why plc?

u could use other cheaper methods just to fill bottles at the of the plc.use a pic instead.how much did they try to sell the plc to u at school for?what brand was the plc anyway?

tough task for a winery student.

sorry for my earlier post..had insufficient sleep...

ok,,,,a plc is very expensive just to fill bottles and since u wont be monitoring it remotely from a faraway place its best that a plc be avoided for that situation.

ive come across at work where dozens of sensors and motors and valves have its behaviour patterns made by plc.a plc might be an overkill for a bottling plant..pic does the same job too.