"new" equipment arriving today

we were "bought out" a few months ago by new owners (read "Japanese"), and, since that time, the higher-ups decided to close one of our plants and move all their equipment here, to expand our manufacturing capabilities for new business they are bringing with them, (good news for us).
well, yesterday the semis' began arriving with this "new" equipment and the riggers and setup guys are working pretty much around the clock to get machines unloaded, set up in the plant, and in some cases, put back together, (as in multiple unit production lines). i spent some time at the plant this morning peeking into control panels of the various machines and i am finding omron, t.i., g.e. fanuc, yaskawa, fuji, and seimens drives, controllers, and plcs'. no A-B or Mitsubishi! we have virtually NO experience with any of these brands, as we've used a-b and mitsu products pretty much exclusively the past 25 years.
the mechs tell me they can start turning these machines over to us one by one monday morning for electrical hookups and bringing the machines up to run status, and the upper management says they would very much like to see everything ready to run production by the 1st of march. we're talking 4 complete production lines, each with 13-14 machines connected by conveyors and interlocked, as well as 3 150 ton presses and related stacking equipment, and several smaller "stand-alone machines!
the good thing is, we've already anticipated the additional load requirements and have a new substation and 2 new buses in place, but thats it so far.
i've been in this profession for the past 35 years, and i think the next 30 days are going to be the hardest i've ever worked in my life! i will keep you all posted as to our progress, or lack of it.

the old grouch

I think the best way too view this is “wow this is going to be fun learning all this new stuff”. I spent 35 years with the same company, 27 years in instrumentation field. As time went by I resisted change more so then when I was younger. If it works leave it along.
So view it as an opportunity and have FUN.

IMHO

The GE wont be all that difficult with the AB, Mitsubishi experience you already have. If the Siemens is the 300 or 400 series it's like learning a whole new language. I'm not familiar with the others.

You should immediatly ask for free coffe.

There is a minimum a man needs!

Good luck.

If I may only one advice from an old monkey.

NEVER GIVE THEM ANY TIME FRAME.

When they will say "Do you thinck this will be running next Friday?" Thats even before there is any power to the system. You answer should be in the lines that "I will keep you informed of our progress to the minute if you want."

These types of job are a Catch22. But gosh is it ever rewarding

At least have fun

Ho! And one more thing. first thing monday morning is to find where there is support for all them brands. Phone numbers, 24 hour service and support, sub-contractors phone snumber. You know.

Sounds like this is a golden opportunity to get (request) 2 or 3 new PC's to load up all that software you're gonna need to support all that equipment.

It's gonna be fun, alright, but for a lot longer than the startup time. You're gonna find pesky little problems for a year, or so. Moved machinery never gets put together the way it was taken apart. Then there's all the little things that the previous plant did to the machines that were never documented--an LS here, a PB there.

I never understood why a corporation in charge of such a move wouldn't have the same people dis-connect and re-connect the darn thing. I guess they just don't understand. Or it's $$$.

I've has experience re-connecting and re-starting previously running equipment. Keep this in mind--if the code worked then, it should work now. 99% of the bugs will be wiring. But you still need to see the code to determine what the wiring should do/be.

I have had similar new equipment experiences in the past. Not on your scale, however. Only two machines--at the same time--big ones--about 20 profibus nodes each. But if not for those two, I would have never experienced the magic of Siemens (Heaven forbid).

Have fun with it, and don't let the pushing bother you. (I had a craftsman friend who's common answer to the "when's it gonna be up" question was "what G** Da** difference does it make--I'll call you when I'm done. He has since passed away and I really miss that guy) Do the best you can and that's all you can do. Ask for help when you need it--or simply vent. I think I may speak for all here when I say that we are glad to listen.

Good Luck

TI and Omron are pretty easy. I used TI years ago and they had some very nice early features.

Omron can be a lttle difficult to get your head around at first. No X, Y, I or Q, just numbers. Get used to it and you will love it.

If you post the model numbers here, over time, there are many of us that will be able to point you in the right direction for which software to use with each model, and of course be of assistance.

WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY YOU HAVE!!!

It will be interesting with the Japanese gear. They have a habit of producing stuff for the local market and not releasing it outside Japan. This equipment does not even have English manuals. Have been there. FUN!!! FUN!!! FUN!!!.

Oh yes...NEVER OFFER A TIME FRAME. Tell them anything but never say when it will be done.

I can not number the times I have been involved with machine moves that used one company to uninstall and install OR used someone to uninstall and another outfit (sometimes in house) to re-install.

The one company thing usually has "less" problems but they still make mistakes..wire numbers like 6 and 9 used for motor leads that get read wrong so motor(s) single phase.

Large HP DC motors with 3 leads...ie think is 3PH...chop/chop not marked.

Control wires terminated wrong ...the list is endless.

Its FUN tho, enjoy it and push for new laptop(s) and associated software with adapters.

This is the kind of environment I excel in but then its all in place and running and I am lost.

john paley said:

I never understood why a corporation in charge of such a move wouldn't have the same people dis-connect and re-connect the darn thing.

Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly. Let's hope those dis-connect people weren't the soon-to-be-laid-off guys at the plant that's closing. I know that if I were them, I wouldn't be overly concerned about 'proper' disassembly...

beerchug

-Eric

Some years ago a company here in Sydney Ozz imported a machine fro Japan for making bread for breddcrumbs. They would not spend the money on a new machine so they bought the development machine. HOW STUPID!!!!!

Muggins here got to sort the machine out. An old Omron M1R (remember them)?

The recommended "plates" to be used between the planks of crustless bread was Titanium. No!!! lets use a plated version - it is cheaper.

The method of cooking was a "clamp" was pushed down on each plate to create a current path between phases through the dough. As the dough cooked and dried out, the current decreased. Mechanical problems ith that left, right and centre because they wanted to "repair" everything when something went wrong instead of replacing the broken parts. Awfull lot of Araldite used until they gave up and had some parts made.

The long and short of it was the Japanes company had quoted 3 weeks on site for 3 guys to commission the machine at a cost of $30.000.00 per week AU, plus accommodation, food, air fares etc. The company declined and employed me instead.

I found the loading and unloading robot pressure settings had been altered - only the Japanes knew how to set it back up they thought, speeds of DC servo motors altered, wires cut off with old drawings that were not up to date to assist with sorting it out, wires switched in micro and limit switches from N/O to N/C. What a nightmare!!! I was there for 2 months sorting everything out.

I really hope you have better luck than this!!!! Would not wish that sort of thing on my worst enemy.

"new" equipment

thanks for all your encouragement. as a matter of fact, what are you folks doing the next 30 days or so? wanna come to the wonderful state of ohio and see the sights? lol! j/k!
one of the good things, (i think), is that during my visit to the plant this morning, (to see the setup progress and peek into the various control panels), the semi truck driver gave me a fairly large cardboard box, addressed to me, (i'm the senior tech. here), filled with various documentation, floppy disks, a few cd's, and an older toshiba laptop! so, i'm spending the rest of my weekend here at home sifting through all this stuff and trying to organize the big pile into smaller piles.
another good thing is, i just got a new panasonic toughbook laptop 2 weeks ago to replace an older dell that one of my associates dropped into a chemical holding tank. i guess timing is everything!

as far as giving them a timeframe, my reputation around here is that, everytime the engineers or production people ask me "how much longer?", i usually ADD time to my estimate! they pretty much know by now, not to ask!

maybe this is the year i retire to the lake? we'll see.

the old grouch

I can sympathize as I also have had and presently am expecting the arrivial of "bargain" equipment. The PLC's are a great oppurtunity to learn! The manufacturing facility where I'm employed was almost exclusivly 9030 GE's until we started "upgrading" to previously owned equipment. Now we have GE, Siemens/TI, Omron, AB-SLC, Mitsubishi, Automation Direct.... Concerning the VFD's It has been my experience the nearly all of the manufacturers make a quality product now days, and although the programming is a little differant from one manufacturer to the next they all pretty much do the same thing. My one bit of advice when concidering the PLC/VFD installation is take a good look into your power distribution and the effects of harmonic distortion on your system. VFD's are a great asset if properly installed. Isolation transformers, line reactors, line filters and simular equipment are hard to justify to the pencil pushers and as a result are often hacked into an installation after problems rear their ugly head! All that aside, there is as a result of manufacturers moving their operations "East" a tremendous volumn of surplus equipment out there that is priced right, and American manufacturers that can take advantage of this opportunity can better position themselves in the ever changeing market.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Count to Ten....Often

Unfortunately, you don't have the luxury of starting from scratch, and keeping everything the same.

One day I walked into a plant, and my previous eight years of plc's consisted of PLC2's and SLC100/150's. The section of the plant I was to inherit was all AB, with some Rockwell (AB) Reliance. Had a good relationship with the maintenance supervisors and workers. Got to go to Reliance plc school. Next, I'm told to call the GE rep and schedule for ALL there schools, okay by me. Shortly I get the word to move all my stuph out into the plant, I've been "redelegated". Okay, 300+ Fanuc plc's isn't too bad. but there were also 20 or so other brands. At least 2 each of everything. Lots of Reliance Sharks, never saw them anywhere else. CH D-100's all over (plus dozens never installled), to sixnet, two OPTO 22's, and on. Laptop was a third or fourth hand-me-down 386 with 10 minute battery life and near zero memory and hard-drive. I looked at it as a year in PLC boot camp.

So, you have a challenge, and if you're lucky, most everything will work without too much effort. Perhaps in a year, after you gots a lot of multi-brand education, you can retire to the lake, and spend winters and bad weather days as a high priced plc consultant.

WARNING: Make lots of money fishing, it may be the higher income.

regards.....casey

Well, all I have to say is it' a good thing you got

:site:

Were rooting for ya' buddy!

Ask anything, anytime, anyplace, any town!

Keep those comments pithy, no bloviating...

That's our JOB!

WOW! Can I come play too! I love this kinda fun.

Really, when you finish up you will be the 'machine god'

FIRST THING - THEY DID DO A FULL BACKUP BEFORE SHUTDOWN?!!!!!!!! (yah right)
OTHERWISE THEIR 'Time estimates' are out the window

A box of use (full/less) diskettes - suck down the laptop

Rod (The CNC dude)

worst case scenario, i do have a few spare slicks, (5/03, 5/04, 5/05) in our parts inventory, along with various i/o cards. also some micrologix spares and a few powerflex drives of various horsepowers. i think i even have a plc5/40 here somewhere. if things get really intense, i can always start new, where necessary...........

time to make more coffee...

the old grouch