Champagne maker uses AS-i bus for decentralized control

To handle increasing production volumes, 150-year-old champagne maker G.H. Mumm recently adopted a decentralized AS-i bus architecture. The new system saves on wiring and installation costs, provides simple hardware integration, and will allow easy expansion, says Michel Hubert, technical director of G.H. Mumm. The conveyors on the lines that wash, prepare, and package the three-year-old bottles of Cordon Rouge are divided into segments, each controlled by three photoelectric sensors, 60 inputs linked to the sensors, and 20 outputs controlling solenoid valves. The machine servo-systems are thus connected to the AS-i bus, and the flow of bottles is managed by two Telemecanique TSX Premium and TSX Micro PLCs that communicate via a FIPway link. The system supplies and controls the bus via an AS-i module. It also handles the line safety function, monitoring emergency stops via DPZ safety modules integrated in the PLC. Data are displayed directly on the TSX Micro display unit or on a terminal connected to the PLC. The line started mid-September 1997 at 6,500 bottles per hour and gradually rose to 8,000 bottles per hour by year end. Mr. Hubert says he plans to use AS-i bus again in Mumm’s next automation project.

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