PC-based batch system provides quick changeover

To produce 400 tons of animal feed per day, seven days a week, KFK A/S requires a batching system that allows it to flexibly manufacture a number of different product mixes. Since the recipes contain from four to 19 components with variable handling characteristics, fast changeover, or “fast edit” of recipes, was considered essential. To achieve this, recipes are stored in a PC and transferred to the Philips PR 1615 batching controllers when needed—one controller for each mixing hopper in the plant. This means different recipes can be handled simultaneously, and optimal use is made of the available batching capacity. The engineering contractor, S. Greve, says he saved on engineering costs, mostly due to use of standard hardware and software. For his client KFK, there were numerous advantages. “The client can have a large number of available recipes, which are easy to edit. The batching control system is interconnected to the mainframe computer for management information and control. There are two batching modes: fully automatic via PC and batching controllers, and semiautomatic via the facilities provided by the PR1615,” he says.

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