The Siemens Milltronics MSI Belt Scale


The Siemens Milltronics MSI is a high accuracy, full frame,  heavy-duty single idler belt scale used for process and load-out control suitable for monitoring products as diverse as sand, flour, coal, or even sugar. The Siemens Milltronics MSI belt scale provides continuous in-line weighing on a variety of products in primary and secondary industries and is proven in a wide range of extremely tough applications in mines, quarries, pits, power generating stations, iron and steel foundries, food processing plants, and chemical production facilities.

The Siemens Milltronics MSI patented use of parallelogram-style load cells results in fast reaction to vertical forces, ensuring instant response to product loading. This enables it to provide outstanding accuracy and repeatability even with uneven loading and fast belt speeds.

For more information, contact Ives Equipment by calling (877) 768-1600 or visit https://ivesequipment.com.

The Alfa Laval Unique Mixproof CP-3 Valve


Offering all dairy, food and beverage processors optimum hygiene, reliable effectiveness and decreased ownership expenses. Not just a dairy valve, the Alfa Laval Unique CP-3 is a reduced vent mix-proof valve – designed to be configurable and to protect your product.

Food and beverage plants across the United States are now using this proven mix-proof technology to eliminate cross-contamination – while improving overall production safety, hygiene, and production.

Beverage:


The Unique mix-proof CP-3 can be configured to handle carbonated drinks or energy drinks based on sugar and syrup – perfect for syrup or recipe room manifolds. Cleaning plugs and seats during seat-lifting eliminates sugar or syrup build-up.

Cleaning time and eventually modifications in the recipe are quicker as only two seals are situated in the valve chamber – enabling quicker valve cleaning during seat lift with fewer seal spare parts needed, improving valve longevity.

Food:


The Unique mix-proof CP-3 also has a setup to handle the most viscous condiments such as ketchup and mayonnaise and can assist address complicated problems in food processing – such as keeping the texture and taste of soups or vegetable sauces.

While it can be hard for any viscous food application to clean mix-proof valves with narrow plug tolerances, the starches left behind pose the greatest cleaning challenge. The valve seat is built on the upper and lower seat plugs with throttling corners – which speeds up cleaning fluid to enhance CIP effectiveness and clean the most stubborn food residue with the absolute minimum quantity of CIP fluid resources being used.

For more information, contact:
Ives Equipment
https://ivesequipment.com
(877) 768-1600

Explosion-Proof Meters, Annunciators and Batch Controllers Built to Work in a Wide Range of Applications and Environments

PD8-6000
Front, back and in between, the PD8-6000 explosion-proof process meter boasts specifications, features and functionality that make it the only hazardous area process meter you will ever need.

The PD8-6000 is approved as a complete product by FM and CSA and also carriers IECEx approvals. Besides being suitable for hazardous areas, the number one feature that makes the PD8-6000 such a useful device is its built-in 24 VDC power supply to drive the transmitter as illustrated by the above diagram. This feature not only saves the cost of an external power supply, but also greatly simplifies wiring. In addition, there is a second 25 mA power supply provided with the 4-20 mA output option

Its superluminous LED digits make it easily readable in smoke, dust, fog, and, with the optional SunBright® display, even direct sunlight. It accepts a process current (4-20 mA) or process voltage (0-5V, 1-5V, etc.) signal and displays it on a dual-line, 6-digit SunBright® sunlight readable display.

The meter includes a 24 VDC power supply to drive the transmitter and can be equipped with up to four internal relays and a 4-20 mA output. The PD8-6000 can be programmed and operated without opening the housing by using the built-in SafeTouch® through-glass buttons or the RS485 serial communication port with free Modbus® protocol.

A fully loaded PD8-6000 meter has the following: four SPDT relays, 4-20 mA output, and two 24 VDC power supplies. The four relays can be used for alarm indication or process control applications such as pump alternation control. The 4-20 mA isolated output, Modbus RTU serial communications, and digital I/O options make the PD8-6000 an excellent addition to any hazardous area application.

For more information, contact Ives Equipment by calling 877-768-1600 or by visiting https://ivesequipment.com.

Reducing Material Waste in Flexible Pet (Polyethylene Terephthalate) Production

Reducing Material Waste in Flexible Pet

Polyester is very popular because it is a light, soft, flexible, low-maintenance material that keeps you warm. Making it this way poses diverse challenges to PET producers.


A chemical plant specializing in producing PET was looking for a solution to reduce the waste resulting from product variance. The factory produces 25,000 tons of polyester annually, which is then provided to other manufacturers to produce a vast range of end products.

SITRANS FC430
The SITRANS FC430
monitors the glycol flow.
This vast range requires different PET grades, which are achieved by slight variations in the synthesis procedures. In order to investigate possible options to upgrade their primary processing, understanding the complete process is vital. In the case of PET production, this process starts with mixing three key ingredients – PTA and IPA powder along with glycol liquid – in specific ratios to make a paste.

These source materials are stored in stainless steel bins with a volume of 2649 ft3. Rotary feeders move the mate- rial from these bins to a batching vessel along with glycol to make the polyester paste. The batching vessel is agitated to ensure that the mixture is always consistent. Monitoring tank levels, precisely controlling the dosing, the efficient use of raw materials and ensuring a consistent mix are the key parameters
SIWAREX WP251
SIWAREX WP251
when it comes to improving the primary processing. When Siemens designed a new system for the chemical plant from the bottom up, the Siemens S7-1200 PLC controller was the first product that was installed to set up a compact and flexible automation solution, which keeps track of the key parameters and the process efficiency.

Don’t get mixed up during mixing

Each raw material bin is mounted on Siwarex WL280 ring torsion load cells to achieve optimum weighing accuracy. These load cells are connected to two Siwarex WP251 weighing modules, which are specifically designed for batching applications. The advantages of this solution are that the WL280 load cells feature a C3 class rating for accuracy as well as an IP68 rating for protection against dust and direct high-pressure cleaning – ideal for handling powder materials such as PTA. In connection with the Siwarex WP251, a customer-specific application was engineered with a resolution of up to +/- 4 million parts.

SITRANS TS500
SITRANS TS500
The glycol as the liquid component in this process is monitored by a Sitrans FC430 coriolis mass flowmeter providing a 4-20 mA output, which varies based on the flow rate of the material. This signal is fed into an analog S7-1200 input module. A Sipart PS2 positioner controls the valves to regulate the flow rate. In such flexible processes as this one, the operator individually sets the setpoint for total production. At the field level, this flexibility is achieved using Sinamics variable frequency drives, which independently adjust the flow rate of each material. To close the loop, the discharge rates from the raw material bins are monitored by the WP251. The output is then processed by the S7-1200 controller, sent through an analog module to control the Sipart PS2 positioner – which in turn allows more or less glycol to flow into the batching vessel. The downstream Sitrans FC430 flow meter additionally verifies the flow rate to ensure a high-quality mix.

How powder and liquid become PET

Pointek CLS200
Pointek CLS200
The temperature of the paste is another crucial factor when it comes to producing high-quality PET. If the agitation causes too much heat, the whole mixture could be lost, causing unwanted waste. In this configuration, a TS500 controls the temperature to the optimum level. To further cut down on product loss, a Pointek CLS200 capacitance- based switch acts as a backup device to ensure that the material discharges completely, and does not build up or overflow. Its high frequency oscillation makes it insensitive to product buildup, therefore guaranteeing reliable level monitoring in the PET paste vessel. For integrated control and alarm management, the level switch is connected to the S7-1200 controller. With 13 sensors, 2 VFDs, 3 geared motors, 4 modules and 1 HMI installed and connected to the control system, the plant managers reap the benefits of a comprehensive portfolio from one supplier. The new equipment is reliable and efficient and – together with the DCS solution – offers excellent process and data control.

Less material waste and reduced downtimes

SIPART PS2
SIPART PS2
Where did this leave the chemical company? After the equipment had been running for 3 months, the first estimates were made as to whether the initial goals of reduced waste and increased efficiency had been met. The result: plant efficiency had increased by 27 % due to the reduced material waste and product loss. Further, the more reliable process measurements and diagnostics help the company to service their equipment on a preventive basis instead of a reactive one, resulting in reduced downtimes and in- creased reliability.

Simplified diagram
Simplified diagram showing the customer’s process.
So the next time, you put on your running gear, take a sip out of a plastic bottle or attach your safety belt, maybe you will remember the effort that goes into producing the PET that is needed to manufacture these types of products. By the way – they have another important characteristic in common as they can be completely recycled.






Ives Equipment
877-768-1600
https://ivesequipment.com

Oil & Gas and Power Grids Have New "Cause for Concern" from Hackers

A report released in June, from the security firm Dragos, describes a worrisome development by a hacker group named, “Xenotime” and at least two dangerous oil and gas intrusions and ongoing reconnaissance on United States power grids.

Multiple ICS (Industrial Control Sectors) sectors now face the XENOTIME threat; this means individual verticals – such as oil and gas, manufacturing, or electric – cannot ignore threats to other ICS entities because they are not specifically targeted.


The Dragos researchers have termed this threat proliferation as the world’s most dangerous cyberthreat since an event in 2017 where Xenotime had caused a serious operational outage at a crucial site in the Middle East.

The fact that concerns cybersecurity experts the most is that this hacking attack was a malware that chose to target the facility safety processes (SIS – safety instrumentation system).

For example, when temperatures in a reactor increase to an unsafe level, an SIS will automatically start a cooling process or immediately close a valve to prevent a safety accident. The SIS safety stems are both hardware and software that combine to protect facilities from life threatening accidents.

At this point, no one is sure who is behind Xenotime. Russia has been connected to one of the critical infrastructure attacks in the Ukraine.  That attack was viewed to be the first hacker related power grid outage.

This is a “Cause for Concern” post that was published by Dragos on June 14, 2019.

“While none of the electric utility targeting events has resulted in a known, successful intrusion into victim organizations to date, the persistent attempts, and expansion in scope is cause for definite concern. XENOTIME has successfully compromised several oil and gas environments which demonstrates its ability to do so in other verticals. Specifically, XENOTIME remains one of only four threats (along with ELECTRUM, Sandworm, and the entities responsible for Stuxnet) to execute a deliberate disruptive or destructive attack.

XENOTIME is the only known entity to specifically target safety instrumented systems (SIS) for disruptive or destructive purposes. Electric utility environments are significantly different from oil and gas operations in several aspects, but electric operations still have safety and protection equipment that could be targeted with similar tradecraft. XENOTIME expressing consistent, direct interest in electric utility operations is a cause for deep concern given this adversary’s willingness to compromise process safety – and thus integrity – to fulfill its mission.

XENOTIME’s expansion to another industry vertical is emblematic of an increasingly hostile industrial threat landscape. Most observed XENOTIME activity focuses on initial information gathering and access operations necessary for follow-on ICS intrusion operations. As seen in long-running state-sponsored intrusions into US, UK, and other electric infrastructure, entities are increasingly interested in the fundamentals of ICS operations and displaying all the hallmarks associated with information and access acquisition necessary to conduct future attacks. While Dragos sees no evidence at this time indicating that XENOTIME (or any other activity group, such as ELECTRUM or ALLANITE) is capable of executing a prolonged disruptive or destructive event on electric utility operations, observed activity strongly signals adversary interest in meeting the prerequisites for doing so.”

Calibration Services for Process Instrumentation


Measuring, positioning, recording, and controlling are important parameters in all industries processes. That’s why process instruments need to deliver the highest levels of precision and reliability.

Today calibration measuring devices is an important production and competitive activity due to steadily increasing demands on reliability, availability and performance.

Off-site Calibration Services

Siemens offers factory calibration services for Pressure, Temperature and Flowmeters from both our own and other manufacturers.

On-site Calibration Services

Siemens offers on-site calibrations for Pressure, Temperature and Belt scale of our own products as well as those of other manufacturers.

This video presents the viewer with explanations and concepts for the following:

  • The Siemens Process Instrument Services overview.
  • A description of field instrument technologies.
  • What calibration means.
  • Reasons for calibrating field devices.
  • The importance of calibration and verification.
  • What traceability means.
  • Why accreditation is needed.
  • The Siemens Factory Calibration process.
  • The Siemens On-site Calibration process.
  • What verification means.
  • Reasons for verification.
  • The Siemens On-site Verification process.

For more information, contact Ives Equipment:
(877) 768-1600
https://ivesequipment.com