Abstract
Industry equipment such as machinery utilising programmable logic controllers (PLCs) become outdated and obsolete over time. Support for older machines and controllers becomes limited and they become incompatible with new computer operating systems. In the end, they are no longer used by industry. However, obsolete machines can be refurbished and used for teaching or demonstration purposes. Hence, this paper presents the reconditioning of a Festo manufacturing machine by replacing the old Festo PLC with an Allen-Bradley PLC so that it’s compatible with the mini-industrial network in the mechatronics lab. The machine is a Festo MPS storage and retrieval station featuring three axis electromechanical gantries, a gripper, DC motors with encoder feedback, reed switches, and a pneumatic actuator. The I/O connections from these components to the old PLC is traced and a new interface to the Allen-Bradley PLC is established while keeping connectivity with the old Festo PLC for legacy control. This upgrade allows the machine to be used for student training in the automation courses. It also leaves an option for utilising the old Festo PLC if needed. A sample program has been developed to test and verify correct interfacing and operation of the Allen-Bradley PLC and Festo storage and retrieval station.
Highlights
Advances in technology to improve manufacturing and production eventually leads to industrial equipment becoming obsolete
In areas such as manufacturing and automation, advances can be due to changes in the software and hardware components of intelligent control systems (Chen et al, 2020) (Li et al, 2016) (Pini et al, 2019)
The old controller is replaced with an equivalent new controller that can carry out the functions of the process
Summary
Advances in technology to improve manufacturing and production eventually leads to industrial equipment becoming obsolete In areas such as manufacturing and automation, advances can be due to changes in the software and hardware components of intelligent control systems (Chen et al, 2020) (Li et al, 2016) (Pini et al, 2019). The advances could be due to changes in the physical set up of manufacturing processes and systems (Hagel et al, 2015) Two effects of these advances are: Old controllers with programs that can no longer be updated or edited. This is mainly due to the programming software being incompatible with newer computer systems. The older controllers essentially become ewaste that needs to be recycled in an environmentally responsible manner (Recycle, 2021)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
