Marriage between old and new increases availability and security
Old therefore does not mean worn out. Modulyss had its forty-year-old latex line rebuilt by ATS to gain in availability, user-friendliness and safety. Because the control of the burners for the drying process was also upgraded to guarantee safe operation. In short, the heart of production has become completely state-of-the-art again.
Modulyss soft floor coverings are finding their way all over the world. Since its founding in 2010, the company headquartered in Zele has made it a point of honor to redefine spaces. It does so with unique and high-quality carpet tiles that exemplify sustainability but also improve acoustics by making maximum use of advanced fiber technology. Thanks to the range of colors, designs and textures, the carpet tiles offer endless creative possibilities. The main production method used by Modulyss for this purpose is tufting. A technique that actually uses a similar principle to a sewing machine: pile yarn is pierced through a substrate with a needle. But instead of securing that, loops are formed. During tufting, those loops are then cut open to create high-pile flooring. A technique that leaves a lot of room for creativity. Just what Modulyss excels at.
Latex line of 150m
One of the final steps in the tufting process is applying a latex layer to glue the yarn to a backing. "That provides the strength we need when cutting. Depending on the customer's requirements, this latexing is done in one or two layers. The important thing is that we can then dry the material as quickly as possible," says Thijs Dauwe, Maintenance Engineer Electrical Department. At Modulyss, the entire line containing this process extends as far as the eye can see. More than 150 m long and also wider than what is common in this world. "It allows us to produce twice as much in one run and the machine only runs in the morning," explains Dauwe.
No more spare parts
At least, if everything goes smoothly. The latex line, meanwhile, dates back to the 1980s. A new retrofit - an earlier one happened in 2000 - had to guarantee production continuity. "Building in redundancy was the main driver. We were still running on S5. Spare parts were no longer available," Dauwe recalls. Second wish on the wish list: more capabilities. "The latexing process requires perfect synchronization of all steps to deliver the quality we stand for. Moreover, there are different formulations according to customer requirements. However, the existing analog control on the line was difficult to tune. Moreover, it already required some expert knowledge to find out, in case of problems, what exactly was going on."
Safety was given top priority
ATS signed off on a completely new concept for the line in February 2020. The confidence was there at Modulyss. After all, they had already proven to their colleagues at Balta that they could retrofit a latex line to great satisfaction. However, the route did not run in one straight line to the conversion during the summer break in 2022. When a small fire broke out at one of the drying process burners during preparation, plans were thoroughly shaken. The conversion of the line would now be done in phases, while in the first phase, the control of the burner would also already be addressed to take safety one level higher. The fact that Pilz is an established partner and also has a specific validated function block for burners meant that ATS immediately knew where to turn.
Safe operation
"The integration of the PSSuniversal PLC control allows us to process signals safely, but also in case of problems to diagnose and drive the right actions. Burner control is a complex matter," says Pilz sales manager Nico Declercq. "You have to know what the standard prescribes and translate that into practice. Our engineers have already started working on this themselves to convert those standards into technology that is TÜV validated. So the customer no longer has to validate this themselves. A safety thermostat was also integrated. If the temperature rises too high, a safety function comes into play that stops the gas and oxygen supply."
Engineering complete, conversion in stages
Even in the conversion of the line, that translation from theory to practice was no easy task: the old, existing schematics and the installation as it stood were no longer 100 percent in line. "Because of the phased approach, we also had to find a way to connect the old technology that still worked with relays with a state-of-the-art control system of today. The engineering did happen already for the entire line, so we would know what would be needed in all phases of the project and how to align everything," clarified Simon Vandermersch, Business Unit Manager Automation at ATS. The choice fell on a DC bus coupled system. "That way, energy can be recovered and distributed to other users." Although sustainability was not the first concern in this project, the integration of these DC buses, modern IE4 servomotors and variable speed drives at the fans, among other things, will make for a much more energy-efficient operation.
Optimize line drive
A second element that drove up the complexity of this conversion was speed control. Modulyss wanted to increase the operational reliability of its latex line, but without sacrificing production speed. ATS Project Manager Hans Geerinck (BU Automation): "So-called dancers in the line ensure that the synchronization where the material is passed is seamless. It was important to feedback those positions very precisely to control the speed and drive the line correctly. Because production is not running in the afternoon, we were able to test a lot in advance so that everything was on point for the conversion. For this purpose, for example, we already controlled a spare drive and old motor."
Collaboration by the book
The results are impressive. The first conversion already increased technical availability. The resistance that initially existed among the operators for the change quickly changed. After all, the introduction of modern HMI alongside the line with visualization worked out in Ignition made the line much easier to operate. The old pupiters were quickly forgotten. Dauwe: "Everything that was contained in the scope came out. The cooperation went fine." Plumes ATS doesn't want to put on its own hat alone. "An important key in this success story has also proved to be the input from Modulyss' technical department. Because of the line's in-depth knowledge, many of the questions we came here with could be solved right away. This was truly a collaboration by the book," concludes Vandermersch.
