The Vision 3 Automation system provides the utmost in precision and reliability for pipe manufacturing using Bidirectional and conventional packerhead pipe machines. The freestanding machine control console is located on the plant floor near the pipe machine. The console contains a color touchscreen Human-Machine Interface (HMI), programmable logic controller (PLC) for solid-state electronic control and a color flat panel touchscreen personal computer (PC) that controls high definition Ethernet cameras.
Preprogrammed logic maintains control of the basic machine cycle and numerous built-in features. These include maintenance schedules, searchable parts catalogs, troubleshooting and an extended memory capacity for storage and recall of setup information for up to 200 different pipe sizes and configurations. Machine control setup is simple; the supervisor selects the desired pipe size and presses a button to complete. This eliminates the majority of the initial fine-tuning usually required for daily start-up. Machine adjustments are made using a color touchscreen interface. The supervisor uses the touchscreen to monitor machine operation and adjust machine functions. Diagnostic help and instruction screens explain machine functions and aid operations. Testing screens provide enhanced troubleshooting ability. A memory card in the touchscreen unit maintains screen memory and pipe settings, battery backup is not needed.