Category: Manufacturing, None

IDRA Presse S.p.A.

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Brescia, Italy

IDRA Presse manufacturers large (20 to 5000 Ton clamping force) metal die casting machines, shipped to clients worldwide. They selected ICONICS to provide them with stateof- the-art injection press machine monitoring and control after evaluating nine other suppliers. They install the GENESIS HMI Software suite on each Pressure Diecasting Machine they deliver to their customers.

Challenges

  • Provide supervision and operator visualization to the metal injection press machine operations.
  • Collect real-time data at 10,000 cycles/sec.
  • Replace their existing Orsi Cube system.

Results

  • All collected data is available in a GraphWorX™ display, that also includes third party ActiveX’s data.
  • TrendWorX™ trends the data, which is then sent via a LAN to a centralized database for final evaluation and storage.
  • The press machine system interfaces with up to 4 Siemens PLCs, 1 Allen-Bradley PLC and has over 500 I/O points with 300 tags.
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“The ICONICS software system has significantly reduced development and implementation time and has allowed us to tailor the systems, very efficiently, to the customer needs.”

— Dr. Davide Gardoni, Project Supervisor | IDRA Presse

About IDRA Presse

IDRA Presse is a leading producer of Pressure Die Casting Machines. IDRA manufacturers large (20 to 5000 Ton clamping force) metal die casting machines are shipped to clients worldwide. The market focus for IDRA is in automotive, where their machines are used to cast engine blocks, car body frames and other automotive parts for clients such as Mercedes-Benz, Ford, GM, Chrysler, VW, BMW, Fiat and many others. They also have casting customers such as Black & Decker, Electrolux, Siemens and Singer. Over 80% of their sales are in Europe.
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“The ICONICS software system has significantly reduced development and implementation time and has allowed us to tailor the systems, very efficiently, to the customer needs.”

— Dr. Davide Gardoni, Project Supervisor | IDRA Presse
Control Screen at IDRA Presse Control Screen at IDRA Presse

ICONICS Software Deployed

IDRA selected ICONICS to provide them with stateof- the-art injection press machine monitoring and control after evaluating nine other suppliers including Intellution, Wonderware, WinCC and RSView. IDRA replaced their existing Orsi Cube system with the GENESIS HMI Software suite, which included GraphWorX™, AlarmWorX™, TrendWorX™ and ScriptWorX™ and installs this on each Pressure Diecasting Machine they deliver to their customers.
Control Screen at IDRA Presse Control Screen at IDRA Presse

Key Features

Presse Trend Data Display at IDRA Presse Presse Trend Data Display at IDRA Presse
IDRA has the requirement of sampling process parameters on their Pressure Die Casting Machines at 10,000 cycles/sec and needed a software system to have the ability to collect real time data at those rates. They use an external sampling system with real time operating software. This system is connected through an Ethernet link with ICONICS software using an OPC Server on a PC, where TrendWorX trends the data collected. This data is then sent via a LAN to a centralized database for final evaluation and storage.
Presse Trend Data Display at IDRA Presse Presse Trend Data Display at IDRA Presse
IDRA Presse S.p.A. Plant in Brescia, Italy IDRA Presse S.p.A. Plant in Brescia, Italy

Project Summary

ICONICS GENESIS software has been deployed to provide supervision and operator visualization to the metal injection press machine operations. The operator has the ability to set the machine parameters to display critical real time information about the process. All the real time injection data from the press machine is collected and stored in a relational database. All collected data is available in a graphical display that also includes third party ActiveX’s data.

IDRA also uses ICONICS TrendWorX to display and store process data. Each press machine is equipped with dual network interface cards, one for communicating collected real time data over their LAN to be stored into their database. The second network interface is used by the end customer to provide them with access to all the stored data on that press machine through an ODBC driver. A modem is also installed on the press machine for remote diagnostics and/or update modifications from IDRA. The press machine system interfaces with up to 4 Siemens PLCs, 1 Allen-Bradley PLC and has over 500 I/O points with 300 Tags. The complete installation was completed by IDRA over the course of 18 months.
IDRA Presse S.p.A. Plant in Brescia, Italy IDRA Presse S.p.A. Plant in Brescia, Italy
Presse Statistical Data Presse Statistical Data

Benefits of the System

Collected press machine data is stored in a Sybase database. The use of ICONICS software default libraries has made it possible for IDRA to develop special login/ logout software personalized to each user. They were also able to develop DLL library ActiveX, which provides a graphical interface for injection line visualization, PLC interface and navigation buttons used in runtime mode. ICONICS enables IDRA to easily address the customization requirements of their customers. With ICONICS software being extremely flexible, it is possible to change the control systems of a press machine under software control by up to 30% very easily without impacting original delivery schedules. Giving the customer access to the collected press machine data as the systems are built is a valuable selling tool for IDRA. The ease of use inherent to ICONICS software, the cut and paste tag name feature, and the modularity of configuring alarm screens using AlarmWorX, makes system implementation extremely easy and quick to develop.
Presse Statistical Data Presse Statistical Data

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Conclusion

ICONICS has worked closely with IDRA to make their Metal Injection Press Machine project successful in every aspect.

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