Power & Control System Engineering
Vibratory Sand Reclamation & Crushing Controls
One PLC runs 13 vibratory conveyors, a bucket elevator and a vibratory crusher as an interlocked line, unattended.
CLIENT
INDUSTRY
SOLUTION
DURATION
The Challenge
The customer bought a new vibratory sand reclamation system from General Kinematics: about 13 vibratory conveyors, a bucket elevator and a vibratory crusher that break down and return casting sand. The equipment arrived without a control system. It had to start and stop in the right sequence, interlock with the production equipment around it, keep the crusher fed without overfilling its hopper and run 24/7 with no operator.
Key Requirements
- Control 13 vibratory conveyors, a bucket elevator and a vibratory crusher
- Timed, sequenced start-up and shutdown
- Interlock with upstream and downstream production equipment
- Level sensing in the crusher feed hopper
- Limit and motion monitoring with fault alarms
- VFD control of vibratory drives
- Touchscreen HMI with auto and manual modes
- 24/7 unattended operation
The ICR Solution
ICR designed and built the complete sand reclamation control system: a 480 VAC control panel with PLC, VFDs, 13 motor starters and a safety relay, plus a touchscreen HMI. The PLC brings the line up in a timed sequence and interlocks every conveyor, the bucket elevator and the crusher with the production equipment they serve, so material never lands on a stopped unit. Limit switches on each vibratory unit and a motion sensor on the bucket elevator flag faults in seconds, and level sensors in the crusher feed hopper keep the vibratory crusher fed without overfilling. Operators run the line in auto or manual from the HMI, with per-conveyor controls and alarm screens.
Equipment & Technology
- PLC with discrete I/O
- Touchscreen HMI
- Allen-Bradley PowerFlex VFDs for vibratory drives
- 13 motor starters with overloads
- Allen-Bradley Guardmaster safety relay
- Crusher hopper level sensors
- Bucket elevator motion sensor
- Werma stack light with buzzer
- 480 VAC panel rated 30 kA SCCR
Scope of Work
- Controls Design
- Electrical Design
- Panel Build
- VFD Setup
- PLC/HMI Programming
- Installation
- Commissioning
Results
The reclamation line runs 24/7 unattended, starting, stopping and protecting itself with no operator. Every conveyor, the bucket elevator and the crusher work as one interlocked system tied to production, so a stop upstream or downstream never buries a conveyor in sand. Hopper level control keeps the crusher fed, and fault alarms send maintenance straight to the unit that needs attention, with high operational availability (OA) in high-volume production.