1. 2.5 High-Speed Discrete Control System
Sponsored by Emerson Process Management
Created by: Lacey Latour, Andrew Roessler and San Nguyen

2. Purpose
Design a high-speed discrete control solution that could be used to demonstrate how Emerson could replace a programmable logic controller (PLC) with their DeltaV system.
System Requirements:
Discrete input to output in 5 – 50 ms
The input is the switch to turn on the conveyor and the output is conveyor
The sensor is read as a analog signal this is also high speed from the time the sensor reads the color till the actuator extends
Must be movable and fit on a rolling cart.
Must be controlled by a PLC.
PLC must be replaceable by Emerson’s DeltaV system.
Maintain a budget of $3,000 - $5,000.

3. Proposed Solution
Design a sorting system operated by a programmable logic controller.
System Hardware:
(1) Conveyor Belt
(1) Vibratory Feeder
(1) Linear Actuators
Colored Blocks
Black and White
(1) Color Sensor
(1) Programmable Logic Controller: Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400

4. High-Level Design
Blocks will be manually placed into the vibratory feeder’s tray.
The color sensor will be placed towards the bottom of the feeder.
When the blocks are fed, the color sensor will read each block’s corresponding color and relay this information to the PLC.
If the block is white, the actuator will then extend and the block will follow the extension to the correct positioning on the conveyor
If the block is black, it will stay In the same place on the conveyor
Once the blocks have reached the end of the conveyor, they will then fall into their associated bin

5. Block Diagram
Figure 1: High-Speed Discrete Control System Block Diagram

6. Bill of Materials Item Quantity Part Number Part Name Price
Total Price 1
6C Drive
Vibratory Feeder
$360 2
2"x8" SS Tray
$271 3
n12UN/115-2A-HW-NSF
Control
$288 4
HDA2-2
2.00" Stroke Linear Actuator
$130 5
ROB-0953
Line Sensor Breakout
$2.95 6
R-D U4 RS-100N-20-31
Conveyor
$1,553 7
Electrical External Control Cable
$26.20 8
Stand
$47.86 9
Bracket
$12.78 10
BLOCKS
Wooden Blocks
$10.00
Total Overall Price:
$2,701.79

7. Hardware Specifications (1/5)
Dorner 1100 Series Mini-Conveyor
Purpose: means of moving each block from the vibratory feeder, through the linear actuators, then to each block’s color-respective bin.
Purchased as a set including:
Conveyor
Extrusion
Driver
15 ft. External control cable with option to enable I/O
Features:
Flat Belt End Drive
Conveyor height: 1.50”
Belt Width: 8” (203mm)
Conveyor Lengths: 48” (1219mm)
Loads up to 15 lbs. (6.8 kg)
Voltage: 115 V
60 Hz
Figure 2. Dorner 1100 Series Mini-Conveyor

8. Hardware Specifications (2/5)
Eriez 6C Vibratory Feeder
Purpose: Means of holding and supplying the blocks to the conveyor.
Features:
Feed Rate: 1250 lb./hr.
Tray width: 1-1/2”
Tray Length: 12”
Overall height: 6-3/8”
Voltage: 115V AC
Amps: 1.1
Noise level: 70 dB
3600 Vibrations per minute
Figure 3. Eriez 6C Vibratory Feeder

9. Hardware Specifications (3/5)
Servocity HDA2-2 Linear Actuator
Purpose: Means of pushing each block into its necessary position on the conveyor.
Potentiometer wires will be responsible for positioning the blocks correctly on the conveyor belt.
Features:
Voltage: Volts DC
Operating speed (12V): 2.00” second at No load
Operating Speed (12V): 1.37” second at Max load
Dynamic thrust (12V): 25 lbs. thrust
Connector wire length: 24"
Figure 4. Servocity HDA2-2 Linear Actuator
Figure 5. HDA2-2 Linear Actuator Wiring Diagram

10. Hardware Specifications (4/5)
Sparkfun Electronics – Line Sensor Breakout (Analog)
Purpose: Senses the color of the block that is fed from the vibratory feeder.
Features:
Analog output (varies depending on the amount of IR light reflected back to the sensor)
Dimensions: 0.30 x 0.55 “ (7.62 x mm)
5VDC operating voltage
25mA supply current
Optimal sensing distance: 0.125" (3mm)
Figure 5. Sparkfun Electronics Line Sensor Breakout

11. Hardware Specifications (5/5)
Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400 Controller
Purpose: Responsible for processing the color sensor’s input data and relaying output commands to the conveyor and linear actuators.
Features:
120 V Power distribution
12 V Power Supply
5 V Power Supply
RS232
8 point Analog Input Expansion
20 Discrete Inputs
12 Relay Outputs

12. Programmable Logic Controller
The PLC used was a Allen Bradley Micrologix 1400
It then used Allen Bradley RSLOGIX 500 Software

13. I/O Points Discrete Input: Discrete Output: Analog Input: Power Switch
Linear Actuator
Vibratory Feeder
Conveyor Belt
Analog Input:
Line Breakout Sensor

14. Program

15. Sensor Scaling
The sensor reads from 0-5V with white being lower voltage
We used PID (proportional-integral-derivative) scaling
-10V to 10V is has input minimum to input maximum at 0 to 16,383
Since we were just wanting 0 to 5V, we had to adjust the input min and max - making 0V 8,192 and 5V 12,287
The scaled Minimum to Maximum is the percentage of 0V to 5V with 0 being 0V and 100 being 5V
The efficiency goes up by 20% for every volt

16. Next Program Step
Once the switch is turned on, the conveyor will start automatically
After the switch has been turned on, the feeder will have a delay time of 5 seconds before starting

17. Last Program Step
Once the feeder and conveyor have started, the sensors output will be read
If the efficiency is below 50% (under 2.5V) the actuator will then extend for 10 seconds
If the efficiency is above 50% (over 2.5V) the block will continue down the conveyor

18. Maintenance Issues Downloading updated firmware to the PLC.
Replacing fuses and relays in the PLC
The conveyor belt will need preventive maintenance work, such as: lubricating bearings and monitoring belt tension.

19. Stretch Goals and Possible Upgrades
Wire to Unitronics PLC
To program the DeltaV system and be able to test the switch from PLC to DeltaV
To use our HMI on the PLC to also show the visuals of the conveyor and block color
Possible upgrades:
Larger conveyor which could allow a wider range of block colors.
More linear actuators allowing more assortment.

20. We would like to thank emerson process management for giving us this opportunity!!!