axcontrol, Author at AX Control, Inc.

Manufacturing Disaster Recovery Plan: Create Yours Now

A natural disaster or pandemic doesn’t have to mean disaster for your manufacturing facility. Be prepared.

We may remember the last few years as the time of unending disasters. Historic spring flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, and other storms were so widespread across the USA in 2019 one-third of the country qualified for federal disaster relief. In Australia, nearly 30 million acres burned during their 2019 wildfire season. Then the pandemic began. With it came civil unrest, supply chain nightmares(remember all those ships stuck in the Suez Canal) and yet another round of natural disasters.

Close up of a fire truck. A manufacturing disaster recovery plan helps keep fire trucks far away. — A manufacturing disaster recovery plan lets everyone know what to do when disaster strikes.

It should be a wake-up call for everyone. Natural and other disasters can strike any part of the world. The probability of something unexpected impacting your manufacturing plant is high, and shouldn’t be ignored.

Here are some key steps in minimizing the risks associated with an unforeseen disruption.

Have an established action plan for your personnel.

If a disaster occurs, your managers and team members should know exactly where to go, what to do, and what they are responsible for. Outline responsibilities in advance. This will help each person or team understand how their role will help in maintaining safety or in returning operations back to normal. Your manufacturing disaster recovery plan should include the following:

Koyo Direct Logic 205: Most Common FAQs

Koyo Direct Logic 205 D2-04B — The Koyo DirectLogic DL205 4 Slot AC Base

Here at AX Control, we field a lot of questions about the devices we sell. This is the first in a series of posts that will answer some of those FAQs. This post will focus on the Koyo Direct Logic 205 series.

What is the Koyo Direct Logic 205?

Automation Direct DirectLOGIC 205 controller is a micro-modular programmable logic controller. These PLCs have a built-in power supply and come in 3-slot, 4-slot 6-slot, and 9-slot versions. Certain versions of the DL205 support up to four expansion bases.

How can I load programs onto a DirectLogic 205 PLC?

Downloading a program and connecting to the Koyo DirectLogic PLC is covered extensively in the AutomationDirect manual. Here are the basic steps:

Start the Linking Process by connecting via the PLC menu bar(first option in the dropdown menu.)
Add a new link by clicking “Add to” in the ‘select link’ pop up menu. If you have created previous communications links the menu will give you the option to select which link you want to proceed with.
Select a COM port. You should have previously connected a communications cable to your desired COM port. Now re-enter that COM port location into the pop-up menu and hit “Next.”
Select a PLC family from the pop-up menu. In this case, you will choose 105/205/405 family.
Select your communications protocol. Leave the PLC address set to the default.

A History of GE Speedtronic Turbine Control

GE has a long history of providing industrial control systems for gas and steam turbines.

Speedtronic turbine control from General Electric is one of the world’s most reliable turbine control systems. Find out more below.

GE Industrial Gas turbine cross section — Cross-section of a GE industrial gas turbine

A History of Turbine Science

Gas turbine theory is not new to the world; in fact, Leonardo Da Vinci designed a reaction-type turbine. While nothing like the turbines of today, Da Vinci’s chimney jack’ used hot air rising from a hearth to turn an axial rotor attached to a roasting spit located over the fire. In this way, food on the spit turned without need for an attendant, harnessing the power of burning gases.

Early History

GE was one of the first modern companies to understand the power of turbine applications. High-profile projects like Niagara Falls (1918) and the Grand Coulee Dam project (1942) used GE turbines. The first gas turbine used to generate electric power in the US came from General Electric. It was a 3.5-MW unit installed at Belle Isle Station, Oklahoma City, OK, in 1949.

Expansion of Products

GE’s gas turbine division is now over a century old. It has advanced gas turbine jet engine design along with commercializing industrial gas turbines for the first time. GE turbines are also used for power generation. You can find them in nuclear power plants, combined-cycle gas turbine plants, and in steam turbine systems and boiler systems.

Graphic explaining GE Frame 5 Turbine Characteristics

Graphic explaining physical characteristics of GE Frame 5 components. Includes Models and shipping dates of Speedtronic series. — Download a high quality pdf of these characteristics.

Frame-Five-Components Download

Introduction of Speedtronic Turbine Control

Beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the early 2000s, GE developed and sold sophisticated turbine control systems for their gas and steam turbines. These systems sold under the SPEEDTRONIC trademark name. Speedtronic systems started with the Mark I series, continuing through the release of the Mark VIe.

While each system had significant improvements, many Mark I and Mark II control systems are still in active use around the world today. The longevity of these systems is attibutable to GE’s adherence to specific gas and steam turbine control philosophies. These emphasize “safety of operation, reliability, flexibility, maintainability, and ease of use, in that order,” according to company documents. The gas philosophy maintains: