Tweedy Mixer control system upgrades

Of the hundreds of Tweedy mixers supplied in the last 30 years, many are still in daily use, having been upgraded to the PLC, operator interface and touchscreen control system.  These control systems already offer improved security, reduced mixing time and remote support, but there are now further upgrades available which will make your mixer even more efficient.  These upgrades will give you the capacity to reduce costs, decrease the chance of human error, enhance security, improve efficiency and reduce downtime.

Making your mixer more efficient

Mixer Production data capture upgrade Records of mixing variables, quality checks and downtime reasons are often kept on paper forms.  These forms are then collected at the end of the period and the data entered into a PC for analysis and reporting.  Electronic forms can be created that allow the data to be entered on the screen of the PC.  This means that the data is immediately available, it does not need to be entered again and transcription errors are eliminated.

Benefits:

• Secure capture of production information
• Real-time access to production information
• Reduced labour costs by elimination of double entry of information
• Elimination of transcription errors
• Improved efficiency through better understanding of Scope

Mixer Energy Upgrade

The energy absorbed during mixing is a key process parameter.  Early mixers were fitted with a custom designed electronic energy meter that is now obsolete.  This upgrade replaces the old energy meter with a system using off-the-shelf components.  The new meter is more accurate and stable than the original.

Benefits:

• More consistent mixing from higher accuracy energy measurement
• Reduced downtime because of ready availability of replacement components
• Display of elapsed time and cumulative energy absorption

Mixer remote monitoring

The Tweedy mixer is a complex system but one that works reliably and predictably.  However, when malfunctions do occur, it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint the cause.  Baker Perkins can provide trouble-shooting over the telephone, but the ability to see, in real time, what is happening inside the mixer control system greatly increases the chances of solving the problem.
Remote diagnosis reduces the downtime by identifying the solution sooner, and saves the costs of travel accommodation and labour.

Benefits:

• Reduced downtime by faster fault diagnosis and rectification
• Reduced incident related costs
• Access to specialist personnel
• Known costs based on an annual fee

Mixer Load cell upgrade

Traditionally, the three load cells on a weighing vessel have been wired in parallel to give a total weight signal.  This is a legacy from the days when strain gauge amplifiers were very expensive.  Whilst this arrangement gives accurate total weight signals it makes fault detection and diagnosis very difficult.  It is often difficult to detect that a load cell is not giving the correct reading.  Even when the weighment is known to be wrong it is then difficult to determine which load cell is faulty.  This upgrade brings each load cell connection back to the control panel so that all three signals can be seen at once.  This enables deviations and discrepancies to be quickly detected, greatly facilitating replacement of faulty load cells.

Benefits:

• Ease of fault detection and diagnosis
• Fewer inaccurate weighments by faster detection of faulty load cells
• Reduced downtime by faster identification of failed load cell

Mixer operator swipe card upgrade

It is important to be able to prevent unauthorized operation of equipment.  Likewise, it is useful to know who was operating a piece of equipment at any given time.  Authentication and authorisation can be enforced by use of passwords but is often bypassed by people sharing usernames and passwords.  The use of magnetic swipe cards and readers not only greatly facilitates logging on and off but also makes password sharing less likely.

Benefits:

• Restricts administrative and engineering functions to authorised persons
• Enhanced security by prevention of unauthorised access
• Record of who was logged on at any given time
• Eliminates the need to enter data at the screen

Mixer reporting system upgrade

The automatic ingredient metering system used with Tweedy mixers already logs the amount of ingredients used in every mix.  With a stand-alone control system it is difficult to access this data and produce batch reports.  This upgrade allows the mixer HMI to be connected to a local area network.  The mix data can then be accessed from a networked PC using Microsoft Excel and a specially developed worksheet. Reports can then be generated as required and viewed on the screen or printed off.

Benefits:

• Records process conditions and ingredients used of any given mix
• Monitors ingredients used in a batch of mixes
• View manual interventions
• Reduces downtime by analysis of alarms and frequency of occurrence

Mixer UPS system upgrade

The PLC and Industrial PC used in the mixer control system are rugged devices but not totally immune to the effects of mains-borne electrical disturbances.  Power interruptions can often lead to data loss and problems restarting industrial PCs.  The fitting of a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) between the mains supply and the PLC and PC filters out potentially damaging transients, stabilizes the voltage and protects against power cuts.  The UPS will hold up the supply for several minutes, after which it will initiate a controlled shutdown of the PC.

Benefits:

• Reduced downtime caused by mains disturbance related equipment failures
• Reduced loss and corruption of data
• Increased life of PLC and PC equipment

Contact Details

To request further information or a quotation click here

To contact us directly call +44 1733 283000 or email bpltd@bakerperkinsgroup.com

To contact a local representative click here

Baker Perkins has been providing a comprehensive range of services to its customers for over 100 years. During this time the company’s name and ownership have changed but our commitment to serving our customers has not. Previously the company was known as APV Baker and before that Baker Perkins and Tweedy. Equipment sold under all these names is still fully supported.

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