Compressed Air Best Practices - April 2008 - (Page 38)

| 04/08 Compressed Air Industry PLASTICS BLOW-MOLDING | A R E Y O U TA K I N G F U L L A D VA N TA G E O F P N E U M AT I C VA LV E T E C H N O L O G Y ? Point-to-point testing time is also reduced proportionally to the reduction in solenoid leads. With many valve manufacturers integrating both digital and analog input and output capabilities into their fieldbus equipped valve manifolds, many additional terminal strips and wiring runs can be reduced, in the same three minutes per connection. Many manufacturers and distributors offer completely assembled, pneumatically and electrically tested manifolds, reducing the potential for errors. Now consider the cost of the conduit runs, which need to be cut, threaded, bent, supported and installed at an estimated six minutes for each operation. With one bend, and two threaded ends, a standard 10 foot long piece could add up to 36 minutes. When you consider the time to layout, cut, drill and assemble the junction box or main panel, estimated at 45 minutes each, along with two 32 solenoid valve manifolds and 20 feet of conduit, you have just reduced your machine assembly time by 28 hours. Using an estimated fully burdened labor rate of $65 per hour, the labor savings approach $2,000. Remember, this does not include the cost of the components no longer needed. COMPONENT QUANTITY TIME SAVINGS TOTAL SAVINGS 32 Solenoid Valve Manifold Junction Box Control Panel 10' Conduit Run 2 1 1 2 780 45 45 36 260 1,560 min 45 min 45 min 72 min 1,722 minutes (28.7 hours) Total sample machine time savings. Additional cost savings can be realized by OEMs as a result of valve enhancements. Point-of-use valve installations offer easy tear down and rebuild of machines when moving from the OEM floor to the end user facility, potentially reducing reinstallation time at the end user site by 50%. As mentioned before, simple twist-to-connect cordsets replace extensive junction boxes or bulky multi-pin connectors. The total wiring reduction of collective wiring solutions offer a lower probability of wiring errors. This wiring reduction,along with the elimination of junction boxes and conduit runs, will translate into simplified engineering drawings, saving additional time. And with point-of-use application, the ability to use predesigned layouts or reuse layouts from other projects becomes much easier, as the input and output modules are not located inside the panel. PLC manufacturers are beginning to incorporate vendor specific profiles into their software resulting in easy controls startup of valve fieldbus solutions by selecting module profiles from a pull-down list. These profiles can significantly reduce configuration time by eliminating the need to search through maintenance manuals and instruction sheets for fieldbus variables necessary to add collective wiring manifolds to the network. This eliminates the potential to enter an incorrect variable and corresponding time required to troubleshoot the mistake. 38 www.airbestpractices.com http://www.airbestpractices.com

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Compressed Air Best Practices - April 2008 Contents From the Editor Utility-Air News The Compressed Air Audit of the Month: Minimizing Blow-Molding Pressure Fluctuations AF Compressors: Focused on 40 Bar, Oil-Free Air for the PET Industry Real World Best Practices: PET Plants Using Boosters for High-Pressure Air Guaranteeing Audit ROI for Blow-Molders Managing Vacuum Pressure Differential Are You Taking Full Advantage of Pneumatic Valve Technology? Are You Strategic? Resources for Energy Engineers: Training Calendar & Product Picks Wall Street Watch Advertiser Index Job Market

Compressed Air Best Practices - April 2008

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