Hello everyone. Just a quick post to mention 2012 has been a great year for AMPS Industrial Controls Corp. We’ve picked up several new customers through the internet and word-of-mouth. Our good reputation appears to be spreading and it has resulted in a record number of electrical control panels built in the first half of this year.

Year to date (and today is significant because it marks the halfway point of 2012) we have built and shipped 572 electrical control panels. Most of these are for our OEM machinery customers and they utilize control systems designed by us. We are excited to see this growth and look forward to the rest of 2012.

Don’t hesitate to give us a call to discuss your application. We can help you determine the most cost-effective way to build your electrical control panels.

AMPS Industrial Controls Corp designs and builds control panels for a wide variety of industries but, like most companies, we have a handful of markets where we’ve focused more energy than others. Because we’ve had a very good, long-term relationship with a local asphalt production company, one of those industries is paving and material handling.

It seems like they are expanding or renovating or improving something in one of their plants each spring and they call on AMPS to handle the control panels. Oftentimes it’s a retrofit and we build the control panel to fit into a tight existing space or utilize some of their existing equipment. Other times they completely renovate the entire system and upgrade manual controls to a more modern, PLC-based system with operator interface (oftentimes a touch-screen PLC from Unitronics). We are happy to work with them in either situation, of course.

This spring the need was to upgrade the DC motor controls on an existing line in one of the asphalt plants. Simple control, no need for a PLC in this case. In fact, our control panel didn’t have any buttons, switches or speed pots at all. The customer supplied the analog speed reference signals and our panel was, more or less, a power control panel for the DC motors. As always, it’s our responsibility to ensure a safe panel with proper fuse or circuit breaker protection. We also design the system for maximum reliability by using the appropriate control components. The heart of this system is six DC motor controllers from KB Electronics.

This electrical control panel was completed in June, 2012 and installation should take place in early July. We trust it will serve as a reliable control panel for many years to come, providing asphalt for road projects all over northwest Ohio.

It’s very common for new customers to find us via the good old world wide web. These customers are usually out of town (out of the Toledo, Ohio area, that is) so we hammer out all the details through phone and email conversations. This month one of these new customers came along and they were a real pleasure to work with. Not experts on control panels by any means but that’s why they called us. They knew what they wanted the panel to do but weren’t quite sure how to get there. The end result was a medium-sized, fairly simple but effective control panel. No PLC or HMI in this one. They needed about a dozen operator devices such as switches, to control the lights and a fan to keep the lighting ballasts cool.

As the integrator, we were able to take responsibility for making sure the proper short circuit protection was included, the disconnect switch mechanically interlocked with both doors on the wide, two-door enclosure, the proper contactors were used for the ballast application and several other details others may not understand. Our job was to ensure the customer obtained a cost-effective, safe, well-built control panel.

I would encourage you to do what this new customer did: give us a call to discuss your application. You don’t need to have all your ducks in a row or understand every detail of the project. That’s what we’re here for…

Products features in this panel include:

• CA7 Contactors from Sprecher + Schuh
• D7 Pilot devices from Sprecher + Schuh
• Door interlocked disconnect switch from Lovato Electric
• Circuit breakers from Altech Corporation
• Lighting ballasts from Heraeus Noblelight

Unitronics recently sent us this list of reasons to consider their product. We’ve discussed most of these points on other occasions but they seem worth repeating because of how applicable they are to so many of our customers. The Vision series, in particular, is really a great product for a wide variety of applications. AMPS has extensive experience integrating them into control systems and machine controls. We would like to highlight point number four, also, as it is especially important to our OEM customers.

1. FREE SOFTWARE: There is no added cost for our programming software. It is always available free from the website (www.unitronics.com). Download it now and try it out!
2. FREE SUPPORT: The best support in the market is given completely free of charge! No added cost or service contract is needed for our technical support. With a technical department in the U.S. and in Israel, support is readily available. We also provide ‘webinars’ for continued learning at no extra charge.
3. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE: Unitronics prides itself on being the easiest and most flexible manufacturer to work with. Continuous feedback from Customers and Distributors confirms this statement.
4. PRICE ADVANTAGE: On a price-per-point-of-I/O basis, Unitronics is the best dollar value in the PLC/HMI market. Eliminating excessive costs to OEMs helps make their machinery more profitable.
5. ALL-IN-ONE: We offer a wide variety of PLCs with touchscreen HMIs up to 12.1” along with many analog and digital I/O capabilities. Integrating the PLC, I/O and HMI in a compact package helps with applications that have space constraints. In addition, there is no need to program and wire the PLC to the HMI- this is already done! Convenient mounting options include DIN Rail or Panel mounting. Our broad product line is capable of addressing both small and large configurations. We can cover your needs for just about any application!
6. EASY OF USE & CONNECTIVITY: Unitronics offers built in support for multiple communication options and easy to use configuration utilities. Protocols include Modbus RTU/IP, UniCAN, ASCII, CANopen, J1939, TCP/UDP, and built-in Webserver.
7. FUNCTION BLOCKS: A large function block library makes for a simplified implementation of even the most complex tasks.
8. INTUITIVE SOFTWARE: Unitronics VisiLogic software is very easy to learn and use. Integrating many different function blocks and communications options with the HMI in the same piece of software makes project implementation very efficient and quick. Having the ability to directly access memory at each level allows the VisiLogic user to save time, work and complexity.
9. REMOTE ACCESS & WIRELESS MONITORING: Unitronics offers free remote access and built-in monitoring functionality. Communication over the local network, the internet, cellular modem, or SMS makes it easy to connect to the controller over many different platforms. Additional free utilities include: DataXport, UniOPC server, UniDDE server, UniDownload Manager, UniDownloader, UniVision Licensing, SD Card Suite, and .NET communication driver.
10. DATA LOGGING: Custom data tables can be built for data logging, data access and recipe storage. SD Card support offers almost unlimited data storage and logging to applications. Creating trends on the HMI is also simple, using the trends utility. Up to 64 curves can be displayed.
11. BROAD PRODUCT LINE: Unitronics offers a wide variety of PLCs with various HMI screen sizes and I/O combinations- you will find the right “fit” in our product range for any application.

We have resisted most of these requests because there are laws against such practices but… this article sheds a little more light on what is and is not legal. Interesting read for anyone who manufactures and sells equipment that’s run by software, which is to say, almost everyone.

Even though the Unitronics Vision controllers are very economical, there’s no sense damaging them when you can now easily apply a durable protective cover.

We now offer a self-adhesive Lexan protective film custom cut for each Vision controller from Unitronics. This includes the V130, V350, V280, V290, V530, V560, V570, V1040 and V1210.

These protective covers are resistant to the following chemicals:

Acetone, Methylene Chloride, Isopropyl Alcohol, Ethyl Acetate, Gasoline, Diesel Fuel, Coffee, Clorox3, Vinegar and more…

AMPS currently has covers in stock to protect the V130, V350 and V570 controllers.

We’re told this was awarded based upon:

• Dedication and hard work promoting Unitronics
• Diligence in promoting a wide variety of products
• Thorough understanding of the entire product line
• Availability of technical support
• Extensive programming experience
• Experience applying Unitronics products in a wide range of applications

The following letter accompanied the award:

AMPS Industrial Controls
1560 Holloway Road
Holland, Ohio 43528

To the entire AMPS Industrial Controls team,

Congratulations! You have been chosen as ‘Unitronics Distributor of the Year’ for 2011. You were chosen because of your dedication and hard work towards promoting Unitronics. Enclosed you will find a small token of our appreciation. Please know that your efforts have not gone unnoticed. You are a pleasure to work with and we look forward to a very successful 2011.

Best regards,

Holly Dillon
Regional Marketing Manager

We also appreciate everyone at Unitronics and their dedication to customer service and providing a high quality product at a competitive price. They’re also continuously working to provide new, cutting-edge products. We’ll continue working to promote the product because we believe it is usually the best solution for our customers and their PLC/HMI control needs.

AMPS has been standing behind the Unitronics Vision PLCs for about ten years and we have designed many control systems around them. Our engineers prefer to program using the VisiLogic platform above any other. We, too, are looking forward to many years working with Unitronics.

For the first time, we were out at the Custar Stone Quarry under pleasant weather conditions. Until now, it’s always either been below freezing or raining. Today, however, was quite nice…

Our job was to update the electrical control panels and control system design that we installed late last year at the stone quarry in Custar, Ohio.

The customer has been very pleased with our work but wanted to add a metal detection feature to prevent scrap metal from being dumped into one of their crushers. Crushing equipment can easily pulverize large rocks but, strangely, has a very difficult time with metal. The equipment is very expensive so it makes sense to invest in metal detection equipment and reduce wear on the crusher. Metal detectors from Tectron Engineering Company were chosen for the job.

These metal detectors were very nice and easy to use. They were programmable for sensitivity and time delays and various other features which made the PLC programming changes very simple. In the end, our customer had a nice new feature with minimal down time.

This time of integration is a specialty of AMPS Industrial Controls. Contact us any time to discuss your application.

This is the same controller we mentioned yesterday. Hopefully the latest member of the Vision family from Unitronics will be making a splash all over the place…

Check out the automation.com article here.

In the meantime, we’re just sitting around itching to get our hands on one and start our first control system design project with one…

This controller is a perfect fit for the food industry- with its IP66 rating, the V1210 is ideal wherever spray/wipe down applications apply. A wide variety of on board I/O options can be added by simply snapping a module onto the back of the PLC. Expandable up to 1024 I/O, these configurations include digital and analog inputs and outputs, high-speed I/O, PT100/Thermocouple capabilities, and weight measurement. They can be mounted locally or remotely, up to 1000m from the controller. This power-PLC is equipped with a built-in USB programming port, recipe capabilities, Micro SD card memory storage for data logging and back up, complete PLC cloning and more.

Systems integrators can now rely on a single device: the Vision1210™ can support 24 auto-tuned PID loops to control temperature, level, and pressure, while the 16-bit, 12.1” SVGA color touch screen displays data, color trend graphs, and attention-grabbing alarm screens. Display options are almost endless, with more than 1000 user-designed screens, and up to 500 images per application. Internal memory holds 2MB of application logic, plus 1MB for fonts and 32MB for images.

Communication options include TCP/IP Ethernet, cellular, and industrial protocols such as MODBUS, DF1 slave, J1939, CANopen and more. In addition, the Vision1210™ can be ‘taught’ to communicate via almost any device-based protocol. The controller is also capable of time based and immediate interrupts, making it a natural for ‘rapid response’ applications such as packaging machines.

AMPS Builds Control Panels using the V1210

AMPs will begin building control panels with the V1210 as soon as our first stock order arrives, in late June 2011. Give us a call to discuss your application and we will help you integrate this new PLC product on your OEM machine.

V1210 is a Nice Addition to the Vision Line

The V1210 is a great addition to the already full line of Vision OPLCs from Unitronics.

Other models include:

• V130
• V350
• V560
• V570
• V1040