Servo Press and Hot Drop Control Panels for an Industrial Automation OEM
Sector:
OEM & Special Purpose Machinery, General Manufacturing
Type:
New Build - Control System, Software
Platform:
Siemens
Certification:
CE / UKCA
Summary
DelaControl designed, built, programmed and tested two bespoke control panels for a servo press unit and a hot drop unit, delivering a complete control system including safety-rated I/O, servo drive integration, PLC and HMI software, a Software Design Specification, and a full documentation pack.
Challenge
An industrial automation OEM required two control panels to be designed and built from scratch for a servo press machine and a hot drop machine. Both units needed to be controlled via Siemens S7-1200 Failsafe PLCs with functional-safety-capable I/O, and integrated with servo drive technology over Profinet.
A Software Design Specification (SDS) covering both machines was also required to a high professional standard, and PLC and HMI software needed to be developed to bring the control system to a fully operational state. The project also required a complete documentation package including electrical schematics, a SISTEMA safety assessment, a Declaration of Conformity, and a Factory Acceptance Test schedule and certificate, followed by Site Acceptance Testing.
Solution
DelaControl designed and built two Rittal-enclosure control panels at its Bristol facility — one for the servo press unit and one for the hot drop unit. Each panel was built around a Siemens SIMATIC S7-1200 Failsafe CPU (1214C), with functional-safety-rated digital input and output expansion modules certified to PLe / SIL3, enabling the safety functions — including light curtains, safety interlocking switches, and emergency stop circuits — to be handled directly within the PLC architecture. Each panel also incorporated an SMC 750W Profinet servo motor controller with EMC filtering, a Siemens 10.1" Unified Comfort Panel HMI, a Bosch Rexroth Indradrive CS 25A servo drive, a Schaffner three-phase EMC filter, a Secomea remote access gateway, and an eight-port industrial Ethernet switch.
As part of the engineering process, component selections were refined during the build to ensure correct ratings for the heater, chiller, and drive protection circuits — including uprating the motor protection circuit breakers and EMC filter on the hot drop panel, and substituting appropriately rated industrial power connectors and isolators. Safety contactors were incorporated for the chiller circuit, and an additional Siemens digital input module was added to the hot drop panel to meet the final I/O requirements.
DelaControl produced a comprehensive Software Design Specification for both machines, written from first principles to the required engineering standard. PLC and HMI software was then developed in full, with IO simulation and test motor rigs used during pre-delivery factory acceptance testing. Documentation supplied included general arrangement and schematic drawing packs, a SISTEMA safety assessment report, a Declaration of Conformity to the Low Voltage and EMC Directives (in accordance with BS EN 60204, BS EN 61439-1, and BS EN 61439-2), and a signed FAT certificate. Site acceptance testing was carried out on completion of machine wiring.
Key Facts
• Two control panels built: one for a servo press unit, one for a hot drop unit
• Each panel controlled by a Siemens SIMATIC S7-1200 Failsafe CPU (1214C)
• Safety I/O modules rated to PLe (ISO 13849-1) / SIL3 (IEC 61508) on both panels
• SMC 750W Profinet servo motor controller integrated into each panel
• Bosch Rexroth Indradrive CS 25A servo drive per panel
• Siemens 10.1" Unified Comfort Panel HMI per panel
• Secomea remote access gateway included in each panel
• Schaffner three-phase chassis-mount EMC filter per panel
• Software Design Specification produced for both machines
• Full documentation pack: schematics, SISTEMA report, Declaration of Conformity, FAT schedule and certificate