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| Factory Facts |
With buildings occupying more than a quarter million square feet of facility
space, the QingDao facility employs 2,500 workers and comprises eight separate factories
and a construction company. Annual production capacity reaches 12 million units for
wheels and 3 million units for hand trucks. Products are sold to both domestic and
foreign markets.
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In the vast Eastern provinces of China, the Zhen Hua Industrial Group Corporation operates
the QingDao Rubber Factory, which manufactures a wide variety of products, from tires and solid
rubber wheels to scooters and wheelbarrows.
When the company sought to implement greater automated control for their rubber production
process, they turned to Z-World's Ethernet-enabled BL2000 single-board computer.
With each product requiring a specific type of rubber, factory engineers wanted to devise a
modernized system of central control for mixing raw materials in the numerous distribution bins
along the production line. The BL2000's Ethernet capability proved a deciding factor in the
company's decision to use the Z-World SBC, as a serial communications solution would have required
unwieldy amounts of cabling and connections.
Deployed in the distribution bins, the BL2000s are connected to a central monitoring computer
via the 10Base-T interface. The controlling PC sends commands to each SBC based on the different
mixing formulas, providing the corresponding weight for each ingredient. Each BL2000 is connected
to a hopper and interfaced through three balance sensors, two electromagnetic vibrators, a level
switch, and a baffling valve.
Basic commands—such as START, RUN, and STOP—are
communicated to the SBCs. Upon receiving the START command, the SBC activates the incoming electromagnetic
vibrator, which allows the required ingredients to enter the distribution bin. When the desired
weight is attained, feeding is stopped. Upon receiving the RUN command, the outgoing electromagnetic
vibrator starts, with the baffling valve adjusting as needed. When the level switch senses that
the distribution bin is empty or detects a STOP signal, the run terminates and waits for the
signal for the next cycle.
According to company officials, the BL2000 Wildcat has given the QingDao Rubber Factory an
unmatched degree of control over its production processes. Using an Ethernet-enabled Z-World
SBC also minimized cable distribution, reduced installation costs, and improved overall system
stability. With the successful results demonstrated at QingDao, the Zhen Hua Industrial Group
is now planning to roll out the same embedded control solution at other factories.
Zhen Hua International Group, www.zhenhuarubber.com
Z•World Distributor in China
BeiJing Bocon Automation Tech., www.bocon.com.cn
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