Modulyss has been designing and producing unique carpet tiles for commercial use all over the world for 25 years. The entire production process, from design to packaging, takes place in-house at the site in Zele. The old bitumen line was due for renewal and that’s why Modulyss called on Actemium.
TOTAL PROJECT FROM DESIGN TO COMMISSIONING
To make high-quality carpet tiles, several membranes (layers) are bituminised or adhered together – hence the name ‘bitumen line’. Afterwards, the tiles are cut to size. Modulyss responds flexibly to the needs of the international contract market and has therefore added new functionalities to its bitumen line over the years.
The result was a line with (partly) outdated technologies, but mainly with all kinds of separate modules that were added over time. That worked but the line needed standardisation. At Actemium, we took the opportunity to carry out a thorough risk analysis and align the production line with the Machinery Directive.
REMANUFACTURING INTO AN INTEGRATED AND CENTRALISED SYSTEM
The mechanical operation of the line remained unchanged, but the electrical control was totally revamped and optimised. The old DC motors were converted to AC motors. This allows the installation to benefit from the advantages of AC motors such as higher efficiency, less noise, durability, electrical speed control…
A major advantage of remanufacturing is that the vast majority of the original installation could be retained, which reduced costs significantly. The various control systems were replaced by a new PLC platform: Siemens Safety S7-1500. As a result, one integrated system now controls all functionalities that were previously housed in separate modules, including safety functions. In addition, the new PLC platform ensures better communication with the higher-level ERP and MES systems.
Visualisation was also upgraded with TIA Comfort Panels: graphs show performance and in case of any errors in the production process, an alarm is immediately displayed, including diagnostics. Operators can easily set parameters and control the line using touch screens. All this makes production more regular and more reliable than before.
Advantages for the customer
- Protection of initial investment by upgrading controls of current machines
- Very economical alternative instead of investing in new equipment
- Cost-effective long-term protection of your investment in machinery and production lines with state-of-the-art controls
- Reduce safety risks through risk analysis and compliance with the latest machinery directive
- Improved interfacing with other controls and applications
- Improved analysis and reporting capabilities
- Save energy and energy costs using the latest technology frequency converters
