Systems integrator Malisko Engineering was contracted to upgrade a furnace control system for Advanced Energy, a manufacturer of industrial power systems and components.This RTC furnace had been operating perfectly since the mid-1990s but Advanced Energy knew they could realize major improvements in performance and gain other advantages by upgrading the controls to the latest generation of Opto 22 hardware and software. Malisko designed a custom solution that included a standalone controller with analog output modules to control the speed and intensity of current and voltage powering the furnace, digital output modules to switch that power, and thermocouple modules that accept temperature input from the furnace’s type K thermocouples.

Upland, California-based New Bedford Panoramex Corporation (NBP) specializes in the design and development of air traffic control systems and lighting systems used in the aerospace and aviation industry.

NBP is also the developer of the Integrated Wireless Access System (IWAS), which provides a wireless solution for airport control towers to access and control remote field equipment and lighting systems. The key components of the IWAS are Opto 22 SNAP PAC System programmable automation controllers and SNAP I/O systems.

Each IWAS is configured to interface to a specific type of equipment and each IWAS' SNAP PAC System includes a controller and the appropriate I/O modules for monitoring and controlling this equipment. For example, serial modules provide a bi-directional interface to read and write to older types of equipment; analog input modules monitor lighting systems' voltage input status; digital input modules track the systems' on/off status; and digital output modules enable remote on/off switching.

Systems integrator Automated Interface Solutions (AIS) used the SNAP PAC System to solve a problem for one of its large customers, a manufacturer of polypropylene film.

Part of the company’s manufacturing process used older Measurex and Foxboro systems, tied by custom software to an Allen-Bradley® ControlLogix® PLC. Parts were becoming difficult to get and the custom software was expensive to change.

AIS installed the SNAP PAC System to replace the older hardware. Opto 22 PACs communicate natively with Allen-Bradley PLCs using the EtherNet/IP protocol. AIS worked with its customer to define all of the process control data it wanted the A-B system to have access to, and then made that data available within the shared memory of the Opto 22 PACs.

In addition, the SNAP PAC System sends data via OPC to the company’s Wonderware® Intouch® HMI, which displays real-time information on scanners, indicates die bolt positions (on or off), roll lengths and averages, and other statistics. Data transfer is accomplished via OPC, and more than 6,400 I/O tags are passed through to the HMI without issue.

At the University of California, Irvine, Scientist Dr. John Garman and a team of his engineering students use an Opto 22 SNAP PAC System in their research of coal and biomass combustion. The SNAP PAC hardware controls the coal feed rate into an entrained flow reactor, monitors thermocouples that feed back process control data, monitors emissions, and acquires and logs data on operating conditions within the reactor.

This document is written in Chinese.

Fulghum Industries, Inc. provides saws, chippers, loaders, conveyors, cranes, debarkers, and other heavy-duty equipment that transports and processes wood into woodchips and wood fiber for pulp and paper, animal bedding, and other end products. To provide additional value to customers, Fulghum also establishes remote wood processing facilities (woodyards) adjacent to paper mills and other customers.

In operating one such woodyard, Fulghum needed to integrate conveying systems and other equipment controlled by the Opto 22 SNAP PAC System, with a Bruks Rockwood stacker-reclaimer that included an embedded Allen-Bradley Logix PLC.

With the help of integrator Advanced Control Solutions, the two control systems were interconnected and now communicate and share information. Integration and configuration was quick and easy and no extra programming was required.

This document is written in Chinese.

The Lamma Power Station in Hong Kong is using Opto 22 SNAP PAC standalone controllers to control heat, pressurization and other critical processes. The Opto 22 PACs connect to weigh scales, conveyors, pressure transducers, and thermocouples to ensure that the coal burning operations taking place at Lamma are executed safely and optimally.

For example, analog I/O modules wired to scales measure the weight of the coal prior to its delivery to the furnaces and sends these figures to the controller. Based on these readings—and whether they're low or high—the controller then instructs the conveyors delivering the coal to the furnaces to speed up or slow down appropriately, so the furnaces generate the proper amount of heat needed to spin turbines that produce the power.

At the same time, integrated circuit temperature derivative probes (ICTDs) connected to thermocouple analog input modules monitor the actual furnace temperatures, which are then used in PID calculations to regulate the temperature via analog output modules.

The Sotavento Virtual Power Plant in Galicia, Spain, is a "green" power utility with an annual production of approximately 38,500 MWh. The plant uses alternative fuels, specifically wind power, supplemented by hydrogen. At the Sotavento plant, Opto 22's SNAP PAC System provides a solution for not only automation and control, but also data acquisition, enterprise connectivity, and communication to databases.

Systems integrator Optomation Systems designed an integrated supervisory system for the Sotavento site, based on the Opto 22 SNAP PAC System platform. Utilizing a mix of analog and digital I/O connections, standalone and rack-mounted SNAP PACs connect to electrolyzers, motor generator units, and other plant systems and communicate with this equipment as well as with the plant's legacy SCADA systems. Disparate machinery and instrumentation from vendors such as Hydrogenics, Emerson, and Bauer Compressors are linked to the Opto controllers, which communicate using a variety of industrial protocols, such as Profibus and Modbus. The controllers also aggregate all data and serve it to Sotavento databases for analysis and archiving.

NASA’s Deep Space Network site in Madrid experienced a crisis when engineers detected cracks in the elevation bearings of a 230-foot parabolic antenna that enables 24/7 monitoring of satellites, space probes, and spacecrafts. These bearings support the 4 million pound weight of the antenna as it tilts up and down. To determine the precise nature of the problem, the antenna's bearings will be lifted and the existing shim pack removed and replaced with load cell transducers, which will convert the measured pressured into an electrical signal output and deliver it to an Opto 22 SNAP PAC System. Specifically, SNAP-AIMA analog input modules will connect four sets of load cells (one for each set of bearings) to SNAP-PAC-EB2 brains, which will receive accurate load cell readings as the antenna moves across the bearings. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will then be studying the data, formulating theories, and determining why the antenna’s bearings have been cracking.

Ballarat Health Services in Victoria, Australia is a major health care organization comprising two hospitals, convalescent homes, psychiatric services, six nursing home hostels, and rehabilitation centers. Ballarat uses Opto 22 SNAP PAC Systems (generations 2 and 3) for equipment automation and building management. This encompasses an incredibly broad set of applications including remote monitoring, alarming, process and discrete control, and data acquisition for performance optimization, energy management, and regulatory compliance reporting.

The Waterford Township Department of Public Works in Michigan has established a reputation for operating one of the most advanced SCADA systems in the state, if not the entire country. Their advanced monitoring capabilities and very high levels of automation have gained widespread attention from water/wastewater consultants and other municipalities all over the United States and Canada.

In this case study, see how Waterford Township uses technology to solve water and sewer problems and operate more cost effectively and efficiently.

Original equipment manufacturer PayWerks has developed the Advanced Toll Payment Machine (ATPM), an outdoor payment kiosk for the toll road industry. Opto 22 PAC controllers provide the intelligence that enables the ATPM to know the amount of the driver's toll and also gives them the ability to pay it. The PAC connects to infrared lane sensors, which identify the class of vehicle as single-, double-, or multi-axle. The sensors then communicate with the controller, transmitting the data via a standard serial connection to SNAP input modules that work with the PAC.

Caso sobre como la compañía Georgia Pacific Tissue, que ha actualizado maquinaria en una planta en la ciudad de Toluca, México con los productos de Opto 22. (Case study on how Georgia Pacific Tissue's factory in Toluca, Mexico upgraded existing equipment with Opto 22 products.)

Caso sobre un gran ingenio de azúcar en Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí, México, y la optimización de su proceso de producción. (Case study describing how a large sugar refinery in Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, optimzed its production process. Document is in Spanish.)

Case study of the National Gas Machinery Laboratory at Kansas State University

Faced with skyrocketing energy costs and with no relief in sight, industrial controls and automation company Opto 22 implemented its own technologies to address its energy management concerns.

This case study describes how Opto 22 and other vendors provide the hardware and integrated control systems used at the world's largest aquarium---the Georgia Aquarium.

Caso sobre la automización de una planta de cloro y sosa cáustica en la ciudad de Monterrey N.L., México. (Case study of a chlorine and caustic soda plant in Monterrey N.L., Mexico, that is automated with Opto 22 equipment.)

This case study describes cogeneration system monitoring and energy management with Verizon Communications in collaboration with Opto 22's network of SNAP I/O systems and Machine Interface's comprehensive monitoring system.

In its new 225,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, Callaway Golf Ball Company used Opto 22 SNAP Ethernet I/O to increase its yield of golf balls from 33 to 99 percent.

This case study describes how the company, Brooks Automation, uses Opto 22 hardware and software to develop a "universal testing platform" for product qualification.

This case study describes how a systems integrator uses Opto 22 technologies to help maintain the buildings, highways, and infrastructure in the country of Greece.

This case study describes how an automotive leader outfits its automotive product line with Opto 22's SNAP Ethernet I/O System for manufacturing automation and validation.

This case study describes how an Opto 22 systems integrator uses Opto 22 SNAP Ethernet systems at work, at home, and to start his own business.

This case study covers a Missouri-based integrator, The Automate Company, which designed and implemented the control system for Coca-Cola/Dasani bottling plant using Opto 22 hardware. The OptoTerminal-G70 serves as the interface for SNAP Ultimate I/O which works with two SNAP Ethernet I/O units to control three pumps which supply water back to the factory. All communication takes place over wireless LAN.

This case study describes how Opto 22's SNAP Ethernet I/O helps to manage a German auto mall.

The Opto 22 SNAP Ethernet I/O system is used to monitor Barcelona Metro’s entire communications network including the radio links used for voice and data transmission throughout the stations, two-way communication between the trains and the station, and driver communication with maintenance personnel. Also installed throughout these stations is a system of public intercom phones that allow passengers to communicate with the station manager.

Gross Solutions Case Study

Rototek Case Study

Penn Racquet Case Study

Connor Peripherals Case Study

This case study describes how Original Equipment Manufacturer TrafficWerks uses Opto 22 SNAP Ultimate I/O in toll booth monitoring and data acquisition systems.

This case study describes how SpectraSite Communications leverages Opto 22 SNAP-IT™ technology for comprehensive remote management of wireless site assets.

This case study describes how Opto 22 and ATplan collaborated to ensure availability of Bayer materials across Europe.

This case study shows how a manufacturer of medical products and pharmaceutical systems uses Opto 22 SNAP-IT with their existing Unicenter TNG enterprise management system to automatically log critical data, store it in a database, and notify personnel of any problems.

Case study detailing Opto 22's use of SNAP-IT for remote monitoring and enterprise data acquisition from G4 Handler manufacturing machinery.

Pratt & Whitney Case Study

University of Utah Case Study

Foster Miller Case Study

Brush Wellman Case Study

City of Leipzig Case Study

Shelby Montana Case Study

Controlled Environmental Structures Case Study

Tri-County Refrigeration Case Study

The Lamma Power Station in Hong Kong is using Opto 22 SNAP PAC standalone controllers to control heat, pressurization and other critical processes. The Opto 22 PACs connect to weigh scales, conveyors, pressure transducers, and thermocouples to ensure that the coal burning operations taking place at Lamma are executed safely and optimally.

For example, analog I/O modules wired to scales measure the weight of the coal prior to its delivery to the furnaces and sends these figures to the controller. Based on these readings—and whether they're low or high—the controller then instructs the conveyors delivering the coal to the furnaces to speed up or slow down appropriately, so the furnaces generate the proper amount of heat needed to spin turbines that produce the power.

At the same time, integrated circuit temperature derivative probes (ICTDs) connected to thermocouple analog input modules monitor the actual furnace temperatures, which are then used in PID calculations to regulate the temperature via analog output modules.