The mining of metal ores is a cleaning-intensive process. Take, for example, the large, open-pit Cerro Verde mine near the Peruvian city of Arequipa. The copper mine, first worked in the mid-19th century, is being modernised and expanded. As from next year, around 270,000 tonnes of copper ore and 6,500 tonnes of molybdenum will be mined there annually.

Based on UL regulations

Investment in the site includes, among other things, several pumping stations (installed in 2013) and a powerful wastewater treatment plant, which receives wastewater from the entire mine area as well as the wastewater from the ore-washing plant. SPANGLER Automation has configured the controls for the entire system and designed them according to US regulations UL 508 A and UL 698 A. This also includes the construction of the three requisite control cabinets – two in sheet steel and one in stainless steel. The stainless steel cabinet has a double external wall to reduce heat input under subtropical climate conditions.

SPANGLER employees programmed two Allen-Bradley ControlLogics control systems specifically for this plant. Due to the high safety requirements in mining, the controls are both connected redundantly. If one fails, the second is switched to without interruption, as smooth operation must always be ensured. The system controls five filter step screens, two conveyor screws and two wash presses for mechanical wastewater treatment at the highest level.

The tight safety measures in mining have shaped the whole nine-month project. Just in terms of on-site commissioning activities, a three-day safety check had to be completed in advance.

More information about SPANGLER’s production of UL control cabinets can be found here:

UL standard

The Central WWTP Chemnitz receives several deliveries of faecal matter from the surrounding villages every day. Fees must be paid according to the amount and composition of the faecal mass, paid by the waste management company per load. Until now, the drivers have recorded the data to the best of their knowledge on a piece of paper and handed it over. So that nothing is left to chance in the future and to automate data collection, the operator has now installed three SPANGLER Identification and Measurement Systems of type SIMS 04.2.

Checked limits

The driver is identified by means of a contactless card or a chip on a code-card reader. The PC-based system checks the access authorisation and, as appropriate, approves the delivery. The computer evaluates the acquired basic data, such as pH value, conductivity or flow quantity, calculates the basis for the assessment of fees and compares the measured values with defined limits. “If the latter are exceeded, the delivery is halted”, project leader Anton Höcker explains. Due to the integrated measuring equipment, SPANGLER Automation was awarded the associated delivery and installation contract for the pipeline to the sewage treatment facility.

Delivery of materials occurs with every major plant. The SPANGLER SIMS system can be adapted to any application, meaning that it can be used for the reception of raw materials and for production facilities.

The Neumarkt-based German company Burgis GmbH processes around 28,000 tonnes of potatoes a year for their potato specialities which are meanwhile nationally famous. Burgis relies in this respect on a high-quality, regional commodity from Bavaria. For their main products – dumpling dough and shaped potato dumplings – the tubers are generally cooked. This is done firstly in a pre-cooker and then in a main cooker. Subsequently, they are cooled down to 40 to 50 degrees.

The main cookers and coolers were due for renewal, and with them the appropriate control system. SPANGLER Automation not only configured and programmed the new system, but also adapted the control system to the new layout. A peeling plant and a sorting plant were integrated, as was the existing pre-cooker.

Ten days for installation and commissioning

SPANGLER is well aware of the specific circumstances present in food-processing operations, thanks to several years of work in that field. Nevertheless, the performance capabilities of the automation company from Töging in Germany, was put to the test in the course of this project. As the extra items produced in advance represented only 10 days’ stock, the conversion needed to be completed within the same length of time. “During this timeframe, we set up the two floor-standing cabinets, laid the cables, put the new control technology into operation and connected up the existing operating parts”, Simon Riepl, the project leader, summarised. Moreover, SPANGLER had to coordinate work on site with four other companies involved. The project came together in a successful conclusion.

Stainless-steel processing requires a clean surface. To achieve this, machined stainless steel is usually pickled in acid baths. All ferritic particles and the weld heat tinting are removed though the pickling process, thereby “STAINLESS STEEL-RUST-FREE” surface is produced.

It is at one such plant – at HUBER SE in Berching, one of the world’s leading companies in water treatment technology – that the control system was renewed this summer. The Siemens S5 PLC, which was over 20 years old, was suffering from a typical problem in the lifecycle of electronic components: its functionality simply no longer sufficed, so it was replaced by a Siemens S7-1500 with SPANGLER switch system. The user interface is a 15″ touch panel and remote access.

Making energy processes transparent

The production processes involved in pickling are to be implemented via an energy management system in the future. Various consumption parameters are recorded for this purpose and thus the process made transparent. The parameters are defined together with the client, so that the latter’s individual priorities for optimised energy use can be derived from the results.

The work at the client’s premises provided a particular challenge also in this case. There were only ten days available for the dismantling of the old control system, the placement and connection of the new one, the implementation of software and for commissioning. However, SPANGLER managed it. The software ran flawlessly right from the start: the operation has become much easier and the pickling process significantly faster. Dr. Michael Wilke and Richard Schöll expressed their satisfaction, also in conversation: “From planning to execution, and from installation to software and commissioning, everything went in a perfect way. We would like to sincerely thank you at this point for your fabulous work.”

The conscious use of energy saves resources, reduces costs and creates a good image. The basis for this is making the energy flow visible and thereby ensuring that distribution and usage can be controlled. This creates a transparency that reveals potential savings in terms of resource conservation and cost reduction.

In order to structure the necessary measures and processes more clearly and organise them more smoothly, SPANGLER Automation has now developed an energy management system. The parameters are determined individually with each client, so that they can deliberately explore, implement and monitor potential savings for their specific operating conditions.

The energy management system records the necessary data, analyses and displays it graphically. For this purpose, SPANGLER has integrated an ISO 50001-certified software system solution into the client’s existing software architecture, from which data and measured values can also flow into the energy management and be evaluated. Thus the effects of efficiency-enhancing measures are immediately visible.

DWA Bavarian Regional Conference

Helmut Graspointner and Hubert Rackl presented SPANGLER’s new software system solution to the DWA Bavarian Regional Conference.

Hubert Rackl explained: “The fair visitors showed great interest in what is an individual and efficient solution that takes into account both economic and climate-friendly aspects. At our stand and at the numerous presentations, we were able to have interesting conversations and establish new contacts.”