“Theequipment ismuchmore
reliableandeasier to control”
AndyBenstead,Water ProductionManager atGuernseyWater
“Festosupplied threepneumatically
operatedpenstocks, drivenby linear
actuators, to isolate theflow; thesewere
located in the incomingchannel,”Tony
Gillard,BusinessDevelopmentManagerat
Festoexplains. “DNCcylinderswith rod
clampsareused tocontrol the raisingand
loweringof thepenstocks. These
distribute the incomingwater into the
storagebasins. From thestoragebasins,
thewater isdistributed tovariouspartsof
thesitebybutterflyvalvesoperatedby
pneumaticquarter-turnactuators.”
Remotelyoperated
Theentiresystem is runbyFesto’sCPX
remotelyoperatedcontrol system. Thesite
itself isunmannedand iscontrolledvia the
SCADAsystem from theGuernseyWater
Officesbasedfivemilesaway. “TheCPX
platform isacompleteautomationsolution
that integratesawidechoiceofpneumatic
andelectrical, analogueanddigital I/O,”
Gillardexplains. “CPXsystemsconfigured
for specific requirementsaredeliveredpre-
built, testedand ready for installation,
enablingsystem integrators tomeet tight
deadlinesandbudgets. Foradditional
flexibility, theCPXplatformcanoperateas
eitheraself-contained industrial PLC, oras
a local unitonaFieldbusor Industrial
Ethernet-baseddistributedsystem. In
addition, awidechoiceof I/Oand
connectormodulesmakes interfacing to
processsensorsandactuatorseasy.
“Remoteoperation isbecomingmore
common;withpneumaticcontrol youhave
the functionality to remotelyoperate the
system,”Gillardadds.
Unusually for thewater treatment sector is
theselectionofpneumaticallycontrolled
valves rather thanelectric. “On the
mainlandUK it ismoreusual tohave
electricactuatorsbut theadvantagesof
pneumaticsarebeginning tosway the
market,”Gillardsays. “Inmostother
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