Profibus Problems Pulverised

The factory’s shut down – for the umpteenth time!

Words no automation specialist wants to hear: “We’ve got a control system fault, and our factory is completely shut down. Production has stopped.” But that’s exactly what Carl Nash, Managing Director of CPN Systems was told when he answered a call from a worried engineer at Mil-Ver Metal Company, a Coventry-based firm that is UK’s largest producer of high performance aluminium and copper alloys.

Although CPN Systems had neither supplied the control system nor previously been involved with it, Carl made urgent arrangements for a site visit on the following day, a Saturday. On arrival, he discovered the full extent of the problem. The Mil-Ver engineers knew that it was a Profibus problem, not least because the plant had been plagued with such faults since it was commissioned.

Although the plant had been in use for several years and many attempts had been made by a local controls company to fix the problems, no permanent solution had ever been found. Undaunted, Carl drew on his expertise as a certified Profibus engineer and his many years experience of working with Profibus systems, and started to work through the installation in a logical way.

He identified several issues that could potentially cause problems. Having as far as possible corrected these, he was soon able to leave the site with the system running, and one very happy customer!

Paddy Flynn, maintenance manager at Mil-Ver Metal, commented, “When the Profibus system went down that Friday afternoon, we decided we needed to find someone new to help with our problems. We did a search online and, as a result, we contacted CPN Systems. The company’s MD, Carl Nash, came to site as soon as was possible, and did a thorough job of mapping our network.”

“The problems he discovered included poor connections and incorrect installation work carried out many years ago. He quickly got us going again on a temporary basis, and the CPN team came to site again later in the month, during a planned shutdown, to put in place a more permanent solution.”

“We are still having occasional issues with the system but these are down to its age, and the CPN team fixes them promptly as they arise. In particular, Kevin from CPN has been invaluable to us – his knowledge of Profibus, PLCs and interrogation techniques means that he always gets straight to the root of the problem. I now look to CPN as my first port of call for all of my control and automation issues. The CPN team members are supportive, responsive and professional, and they have an excellent health-and-safety ethos.”

CPN Systems is now working closely with Mil-Ver Metal Company not only on breakdown and maintenance jobs, but also on project work. An even closer relationship between the companies is anticipated in the future.