Challenge
Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. One of the many areas that Valmet’s automation technologies address is the production of tissue.
As part of this process, the newly formed tissue is spooled onto large reels, however, it is essential to form and to dry the tissue correctly in the tissue producing machine so that the required quality is maintained uniform for a successful reeling and the subsequent converting into final products.
Valmet’s intention was to use existing quality measurement systems however they wished to automate this process further.
Solution
Working with the Valmet team to understand the requirements our consultants proposed a data-logging system based on the NI cRIO platform. Mounted within an IP65 rated enclosure, the data logger acquires signals from a number of key sensors including humidity, temperature and positioning lasers.
As well as providing the data logger our team supported Valmet to develop the test system software which acquires the data prior to writing log files to the test PC.
Result
The new system provides consistent capture of data, increasing the transparency of the production process and enabling quality control improvements.
Austin Consultants’ experience was very helpful in being able to help us to develop the right solution for the automation task at hand. With their support, we were able to quickly and efficiently put a system in place that was cost-effective and appropriate for our requirements. Being able to outsource the hardware build and software development meant we were able to deploy the system without any disruption to our day-to-day operations. They were very easy to work with and I look forward to working with them again.
