Project · Service and maintenance
Undocumented saw lines back in operation in under one business day
Conceptech had many automated saw lines at an aluminium plant back in operation in under one business day. Most were built in Taiwan and delivered with no documentation or vendor support.
The project at a glance
- Industry
- An aluminium plant
- Scope
- Many automated saw lines, mostly built in Taiwan, delivered with no documentation or vendor support
- Conceptech's role
- Machine service: we worked the lines out and had them back in operation in under one business day
- Disciplines
- Service and maintenance, fault-finding and repair, third-party machines
Starting point
What state were the lines in when we arrived?
There was no documentation to work from and no builder to call.
With no documentation, there are no drawings or notes on the controls to work from. With no vendor support, there is nobody who knows the machine and can help with diagnosis. At that point a plant needs a service engineer who comes to the line and learns the machine first-hand.
What we did
How do you get an undocumented line running again?
The work depended on the machine: sensor or driver calibration, new wiring or motor service. We learned the lines from what was on the floor.
A machine with no documentation has to be learned from scratch: the controller, the wiring and the way the line behaves at work. That is how we learned these lines and found what was stopping each one. The work included:
- Re-calibrating sensors.
- New wiring where cables had torn, anchored in a cable carrier (a drag chain) with guard rails. A carrier like this guides and protects cables that move with the machine.
- Calibrating the motor drivers.
- Servicing the motors.
We take the same approach with any machine whose builder no longer supports it. More on servicing unsupported machines.
The result
How quickly were the lines back in operation?
In under one business day, with no documentation and no help from the builder.
For machines that need regular care there is a service plan: a monthly bank of hours, priority on service calls and a technical log for every machine, including after-hours and weekend call-outs. You can cancel the plan at any time with one month's notice. More on industrial machine service and maintenance.
We don't publish the client's name, or downtime, throughput or cost figures: they belong to the client.
Services
Which services does this project relate to?
01
Machine service and maintenance
Fault-finding, preventive maintenance and controls upgrades, including machines from other builders.
02
Motion control and PLC programming
A controls retrofit for an existing machine when its controller or drives can't be sourced, keeping the mechanics.
03
Industrial automation for plants
Machines, test stations, controls and service for production lines, from scoping to commissioning on site.
Got a machine with no documentation, or a builder who won't answer?
Tell us what the machine does and what happens when it stops. A photo or a short video of the alarm screen helps a lot. An engineer will reply with questions and an initial direction.
Usually a reply within 3 working hours, by email or phone