Recently, InterConnecting Automation Inc. was contacted by an OEM out of Kentucky. The OEM installed a gantry saw for cutting countertops and other rock material. The saw was installed in Rockford IL around 1997. At that time, the OEM used Siemens PLC’s (on this saw an S7 PLC), but has since switched to Automation Direct PLC’s for all of their Automation Equipment.
Unexpectedly, as it so often does, the S7 CPU Went down, and nobody had a copy of the program that was installed into it. The OEM found us and asked us if we could go and install and program a new PLC into the cabinet and get the saw running. 4hrs later, we were onsite and accessing the situation. The operator still had the original schematics from the machine, so we were able to utilize those to get a proper IO count for the machine. Once we had the IO count, we determined the Productivity 1000 PLC and Zip Link connectors would fit the application nicely.
The Zip Link Modules were utilized because of the spacing of the S7 IO Modules. We could use the Zip Links and tie into the existing wiring, and not have to rewire or splice any wires.
All in all, from the first phone call to the final installation, the machine was down for three days and now functions just as it did with the S7 PLC.
