Furnace automation for a defence R&D furnace

The brief

Research Centre Imarat, DRDO's missile systems laboratory in Hyderabad, ordered a furnace from Therelek Systems for an R&D application. The furnace runs a 20-hour batch process with vacuum pumps and reactive gases, so its control had to sequence the process exactly and shut it down safely.

What we built

A GE VersaMax PLC with about 300 I/O sequences the vacuum pumps, the flow of reactive gases and the safety shutdown, and GE iFIX gives the operators the process, alarms and batch reports. Our team wrote the complete ladder logic, configured the SCADA and commissioned the system at RCI.

• The sequence

  The PLC runs the vacuum pumps, admits the reactive gases in order and holds each step of the 20-hour batch, with interlocks and a safety shutdown if conditions leave their limits.

• What the operator sees

  GE iFIX shows the furnace and its auxiliaries, raises alarms and produces the batch reports.

• Our scope

  We supplied the GE VersaMax PLC, about 300 I/O, and the iFIX SCADA, wrote the complete ladder logic, configured the SCADA and commissioned the system at RCI.

Outcomes