Brick Texturing Machine Automation
Scope & approach
JC Smale needed automation delivery to keep pace with mechanical development on a brick texturing machine. The machine design was still evolving while the controls were being written, so the control logic and HMI had to move with a moving target rather than a fixed specification. Metromotion Controls worked with the engineering team and structured the HMI around recipe-based operation, holding the texturing parameters as selectable recipes so a stored set could be recalled and applied to the texturing sequence without reprogramming. The team built the HMI for recipe-based operation and supported commissioning in the workshop and at the end-customer site.
What was delivered
- Automation was developed in step with the OEM's concurrent mechanical development, with control logic and the HMI adapted as the machine design matured rather than waiting on a frozen design.
- The HMI was built around recipe-based texturing workflows, holding parameters as stored recipes so operators could select a set and apply it to the texturing sequence through recipe management and operator controls.
- Commissioning support covered both the OEM workshop and the end-customer site.
Scope items
- Automation integration of new equipment during concurrent mechanical development
- Site commissioning at both the JC Smale engineering workshop and the end-customer brickworks site
- Collaborative HMI design aligned to complex recipe management and operator workflows
Services and sectors behind this work
Industrial automation and control systems
Controls engineering for production lines, brownfield upgrades and integrated plant systems.
PLC, SCADA and HMI programming
PLC logic, SCADA architecture, HMI standards, alarming and historian integration for manufacturing sites.
Building products automation
Process control, kiln and dryer stability, material handling and data for bricks, tiles and heavy clay plants.
Automation commissioning, FAT and SAT
Commissioning engineers, FAT, SAT, loop checks, startup support and control system audits.
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