Friendly Interface

The SECO/WARWICK SimVac™ computer system for control of heat treatment devices - the most friendly interface one could dream of This:

• The control cabinet of the SECO/WARWICK furnaces is physical proof of how technical achievements can influence quality of operation of industrial devices. Designed and made with a view to the user, for the user, in accordance with the user's expectations, they are an ideal communication tool between the user and machine.
• The use of the industrial computer as a mean of exchanging commands between staff and a device, displaying operation status of a device, and as an archiving and visualizing system for current data, has resulted in the creation of the most friendly interface one could dream of.
• The control cabinet, built on the basis of Rittal-made casings, has the IP54 protection level, and fulfils electromagnetic compatibility requirements. It makes up one whole (free-standing or built into a furnace), but functionally is divided into several sections. In the supply section, there is a main off-switch, equipped with suitable short-circuit and overload protections, and distribution of electrical rails. The power distribution section contains electrical protections, contactors, regulation devices, and connection slats for power receivers, e.g. of pumps' engines, heating elements, gas-blower's engines, ventilators, etc. In the control section, there are feeders, electro-electronic control-and-measurement elements, electrical protections and connection slats for control circuits, a programmable logic controller (PLC), and an operator interface.
• Control commands, and programs of the furnace are entered into a logical controller by means of a graphical operator interface, built on the basis of a IPC industrial computer with a colour touch screen (water- and dust-resistant).
• Communication between the logical controller and the operator interface is done through an internal “Ethernet” network, typically equipped with a device that enables connection to a user's external communication network and to a telephone line (hub, router and modem).
• The interface software was built on the basis of the InTouch application made by Wonderware. The program is exceptionally user-friendly and enables operation in an intuitive manner. Individual functions and actions of the operator are achieved by means of dedicated screens. Depending on the device's type, these can be: a main screen, a screen for recipes, registration of parameters, alarms, technical, for inspections and maintenance, service, parameterization, etc.

Functions and Possibilities

The program has, among others, the following functions and possibilities:

• Graphical and dynamic visualization of a furnace
• Visualization of states of elements
• Display of technical parameters
• Edition of recipes (programs for a furnace's operation)
• Operation control (start, stop, halt, skip, programmable start)
• Current edition of a realized recipe (modification of on-line operation)
• Data registration
• Reporting of operation cycle
• Alarming
• Program for maintenance operation
• Parameterization of a furnace

Absolutely all the execution systems of a heat-treatment device are equipped with individual protections and elements that confirm or analyze an action. Therefore, the system is in 100 % diagnosable, and localization of possible interferences is performed unambiguously, efficiently and quickly. In the circuits that decide on safety, in use are hardware blockades that guarantee safety even in emergency states of a control system.

Advantages of the control system

• One three-phase supply connected in one point
• Non-used neutral wire N
• Safe control voltage on the furnace 24 V DC
• Full diagnostics of states
• Electrical protection on each execution element, unambiguous identification of interferences.
• Internal Ethernet-type communication network
• Built-in devices for connection with an external communication network and telephone network
• Operator interface in the form of the IPC computer with a colour, water- and dust-resistant touch screen
• User-friendly operator software on the basis of In-Touch (Wonderware)
• Unlimited number of programs for operation of a furnace (recipes) stored on HDD in IPC
• Programmable time for a start of a furnace's operation cycle
• Possibility to adapt a furnace to local conditions through parameterization

The SimVac™, ACCUBRAZE® control systems are not only easy to use, but also reliable, open and flexible, and enable real-time registration of data, their exchange and processing, and can be modified for the local requirements and needs of a customer.