PROFIBUS Simplifies I/O Expansion of Automated

Fill Station for Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing at

Corning
John Phelps, Manager Facility Engineering and Operations, Corning, Inc.,

Those readers familiar with the

manufacturing of fiber optic cable
will also be familiar with the frontend chemical processes required often called outside
vapor deposition (OVD). (See
side bar.) This is a typical
chemical process where feed
tanks for the raw materials are
usually , located in a separate part
of the facility and
connected by
elaborate piping,
control valves
and manifolds.
Cornings Wilmington Telecommunications Products Division is no
exception to this
typical layout. Like
some processes for this industry,
the chemicals for the fill station
are highly corrosive and require
extensive handling precautions.
The Wilmington plant facility
property itself covers 55 acres,
with the plant occupying 800,000
square feet. Within the facility
there are multiple process lines
and these parallel production
lines all receive their glass chemistry from a common feed tank
area.
Recently, the decision was made
to modify and further automate
the feed tank operation to accommodate some changes that re-

quired additional chemistry feed

lines going into the laydown and
consolidation areas of the OVD
process. Although the original
feed operation was automated
more than a decade ago, the programmable logic controller (PLC)
system and I/O modules used at
that time were already maximized
to their fullest capability. It was
recognized immediately that it would
be both costly and
time-consuming to
rip out the old
system and put in
an entirely new one.
Yet some solution
had to be found that
could provide the
additional I/O
needed for the manufacturing
improvements, but yet is simple
to install so that downtime is
minimized, and still be within
budgeted cost parameters.

The Old autofill System

The original autofill system
was built around the Texas Instrument 5TI programmable logic
controllers. These PLCs were
tremendously robust, reliable and
totally adequate for the job in the
1970s, and even into the mid
1980s. But a lot has changed
since then.

The programmable controllers

(which at that time were commonly referred to as sequencers) have become vastly more
powerful. The way in which I/O is
connected to the PLCs has also
changed tremendously. With the
old system, the 5TI sequencer
could only support local I/O racks
of 32 discrete I/O per rack and
required long runs of hardwiring
to the field devices. Nowadays,
typically these requirements can
be handled with remote I/O racksusing twisted-pair or fiber optic
bus systems that eliminate the
need for bundles and bundles
of hardwiring.
Early real-time process views of
these systems also typically used
mimic boards with graphically
drawn connections (using paint or
tape) between pushbuttons and
pilot lights, as well as analog
pressure gauges. These devices
were hard-wired to the process
too. Modern systems use standard computers or intelligent
touch screen panels that communicate over a variety of compatible bus systems that can share
the PLCs data. A graphical realtime representation of the process is configured in the computer
or intelligent panel using libraries
and tools provided by the multitude of software packages now
available. The PLC manufacturers

sometime include these packages,

or they can be purchased from
third-party HMI software companies.
The old HMI (human machine interface) for the autofill system at
Corning was two identical mimic
boardsone in feed tank room,
and one that is immediately adjacent to the laydown and consolidation areas of the manufacturing
floor. Both mimic boards included
audible alarms and visual indicators
for any trouble that might occur.

The New autofill System

With spare parts for the old PLC
system becoming increasingly difficult to find, Corning sought a company who could replace the 5TI
sequencers and expanders without
putting the plant processes at risk.

Shortly after CCA started the project, plant management was making additional changes to their process lines that placed additional
requirements on the autofill system. By adding the relatively low
cost and flexible Siemens ET-200S
remote I/O module, CCA was able
to deliver the extra I/O needed
without Corning having to pay for
extra points they did not need.
Further, adding the ET-200S provided a simple path for future
growth requirements. That is,
by simply making some minor addressing changes, additional I/O
capacity is made available to
the central PLC. The NEMA 4 enclosure was designed large enough
to add additional I/O and control
devices as future changes take
place. Currently, only 6 inputs and
6 outputs were required to accommodate the process changes.

As a part of the project, HMI was

to be installed that would allow for
manual interface via the PLC. In
lieu of upgrading or replacing the
existing hardwired mimic boards,
CCA and Corning chose to use
Siemens TP27-10 color graphic
touch screen panels to handle the
additional changes to the process.
This was a much less expensive
path to take when compared to an
additional hardwired mimic board
solution. Since this approach is a
The proposal was to replace the old GUI (graphics user interface), it
5TI sequencer with a newer more does not use actual discrete compowerful SIMATIC 545 PLC with a ponents such as pushbuttons. And
it can be expanded without incurbuilt-in PROFIBUS interface. By
inserting a Siemens 6MT controller ring a noticeable amount of cost.
card into the PLC rack it would
A second remote I/O rack was to
allow them to keep their existing
6MT I/O in place until Corning was be mounted on the wall of the feed
ready to upgrade to newer technol- tank control room. This particular
location required I/O products that
ogy. Additionally, since the 545
included a built-in PROFIBUS inter- could withstand severe environments and interface to pneumatic
face, additional I/O requirements
could easily be included in the ex- controls. CCA recommended the
use of a Siemens ET200X I/O unit.
pansion project. As a part of the
This unit, due to its NEMA 4X ratproposal, CCA would rewrite the
ladder logic and provide documen- ing, does not require a cabinet. It
also provided direct interfacing to
tation along the way that was not
the pneumatic controls using a
previously possible.
Assessing various proposals, Corning selected the automation concept presented by Control Corporation of America (CCA) the local
Siemens automation distributor.
The main attraction was the seamless transfer of the old system dynamics to the newer Siemens automation products and software
tools. CCAs proposal presented
the easiest and least expensive
approach.

FESTO pneumatic manifold. This

resulted in a much smaller and less
costly installation compared to alternative solutions requiring an I/O
cabinet and solenoid enclosure.
Because of the safety precautions
that must be taken with the type of
chemicals being dispensed, extensive interlocks and alarms were
required in the PLC and displayed
on the HMI screens of the TP27
panel. When an alarm sounds for
any type of problem, the HMI has
detailed information for troubleshooting and taking corrective action. Much of this is available by
merely touching the flashing portion of the process components of
the HMI screens. The interlocks
not only avoid safety or quality
problems, but also minimize consequences when unwanted trouble
should occur. This preserves the
process and protects the personnel
to the fullest extent possible. By
providing a second TP27 operator
interface with duplicate functionality near the autofill room adjacent
to the product lines the potential
for possible downtime was greatly
reduced.

Conclusions
The combination of PROFIBUS
with the Siemens PLC and remote
I/O modules was a huge success. It
demonstrated the effectiveness of
using the right products and technology to achieve the best solution
at a relatively low cost compared to
other alternatives. Actual cost of
this solution versus predicted cost
for the alternative approaches, differed by more than one order of
magnitude. PROFIBUS and its capabilities allowed the expansion of
an existing system without downtime. It will also allow for the continued upgrade of the system as
new capabilities are required and
the old I/O is phased out.
The combination of CCA with Siemens products and support, have

served to make the upgrade and

additions for the autofill room of
Corning a huge success. With the
new system now having been in
operation for just over 6 months,
there have been zero problems.
Personnel have grown accustomed
to the new TP27 HMI quickly and
have begun to appreciate their
added benefits and greater efficiency.
PROFIBUS is both fast and efficient. No special code has to be
written for its inclusion. The modularity makes its use quick and efficient. Its wide acceptance as an
industry standard makes interface
with it a no-brainer.
The new system is easily expandable. As Corning continues to be a
pace-setter with newer and better
manufacturing processes for fiber
optic cable, the system promises
to afford the additional power and I/
O requirements that may lie ahead.

Sidebar Article-Making Fiber

Optic Cable
Today there are several basic
manufacturing processes being
used for the production of fiber
optic cable. It is basically a twostep process that involves fabrication of a glass rod called a preform. This preform is melted and
drawn into thin fiber. The process
used at the Corning Wilmington
facility is called outside vapor
deposition (OVD), and it is the
most widely used method in existence today. This process, as well
as all alternative processes, are
based on a thermal chemical vapor
reaction that forms mixed oxides
which are deposited as layers of
glass soot onto a rotating highpurity glass rodcalled the target
rod. As the target rod spins
around, silica and germania vapors

are added to the moving burner

which deposit themselves on the
target rod establishing the core.
Then a pure silica cladding is created over the core. Since the raw
material are vapor-deposited, the
entire preform is entirely pure.
Once this is completed, the target
rod is removed from the center of
the preform, leaving the soot
boule.
The resulting opaque soot boule is
then consolidated in a sintering
process via a consolidation furnace
that removes impurities from the
deposition process and collapses
the boule to produce a clear preform ready for drawing and coating.
The chemistry supplied to the process via feed tanks varies from
manufacturer to manufacturer. The
recipes and processes are highly
guarded secrets. The recipes include various combinations of O2,
H2, CH4, Ar, SiCl4, PoCl3, N2, and
others. Some of these ingredients
are highly corrosive and require
special handling procedures. Modern quality and safety issues are
increasingly dependent on automated technology.

Totally Integrated Automation

Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.
May 2001