Beckhoff Presents Universal Automation Toolkit for Shipbuilding, Germany

Ships require complex automation tasks, such as machine control, to be solved, depending on type and utilisation. On freighters one of the main tasks is control of loading and unloading cranes. On passenger or cruise ships additional task known from conventional building automation, such as individual room control, have to be dealt with. The challenge for shipbuilding suppliers is to realise these different automation tasks with the smallest possible number of different control systems, which in addition should have standardised interfaces.

Beckhoff offers a multi-purpose component kit for all automation tasks, which enables complete control and measuring solutions to be configured.

Beckhoff components are used in a wide range of applications, such as engine room monitoring or pumping of liquids, for example. Through the use of the latest processors, PC-based Control makes a powerful automation platform available for the acquisition and processing of all process data. Thanks to the open interfaces and the fact that all communication standards are supported, PC-based technology can be used for central control, e.g. cooling on refrigerated cargo ships, and for decentralised monitoring of individual tanks or containers. The robust, powerful PC controllers are designed to cope with shock, vibration and extreme temperatures in industrial applications. Beckhoff controllers are finely scalable in terms of price/performance: the portfolio ranges from powerful multi-core processor PCs to compact control systems for the price-sensitive individual room control segment.

PC-based automation integrates extensive measuring and control technology on a single platform and enables decentralised acquisition and storage of all process data. These process data, such as fill levels, temperatures, pressure, volume flow, voltage, performance, position, velocity, acceleration, speed, torque and direction of rotation are recorded by the Bus Terminals and processed in Embedded PCs or the higher-level process control system. The integrated Beckhoff control solution not only has the advantage of a compact design; it also impresses through lower system costs, simplified engineering and flexibility. Decentralised I/O stations can be connected via Ethernet, fieldbus or radio and enable remote access.

[mappress]

Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, September 26, 2012; Image: beckhoff