INTERBUS as communication standard guarantees flexible and simple handling of the Ford plants as regards to expansions and alterations as well as consistent and extensive diagnostics increasing the availability of the plants..

Innovation is trumps
Since October 1998, Ford in Saarlouis has been producing the Focus model. Due to the great demand for this model, approx. 1700 vehicles are manufactured daily in three shifts. To guarantee this production capacity, a high level of plant availability is required. For the Ford design engineers, this is yet another reason to opt for a high level of standardization.

Rockwell controllers of type PLC5/80 are therefore used throughout the body shop. This uniform structure replaces the old mixed configuation of Simatic S5, IPC620 and Rockwell components. In the area of remote cabling, Ford takes advantage of the positive experience they gained with INTERBUS in the production of the Fiesta in Cologne, Valencia and Sao Paulo.

Over 40,000 sensors and actuators are connected with the controllers via INTERBUS. Due to the short cycles and the high interference immunity, it is possible for both fast signals to be transferred to and from the controllers, and signals that are located in the very welding area to be detected.

In the door and side panel lines there are numerous lower capacity drives. To trigger these, Ford also uses INTERBUS. IP54 motor control switches, equipped with electronic control, motor current monitoring, extensive local diagnostics as well as digital inputs "on board" drastically reduce the otherwise necessary cable clutter. The configuration of the drives, e.g. direction check or on/off behavior can be carried out directly on the module without the need for a controller. This saves a lot of time during startup.

In Saarlouis, IP20-Flex I/O devices from Rockwell are operated via gateway on INTERBUS. The gateway serves as converter bus terminal from INTERBUS to Devicenet.

The diagnostics and project planning of INTERBUS with CMD, the software tool, is guaranteed up to the gateway. This applies both to the diagnostics displays on the central host controller board in the control system and to the diagnostics options on the I/O components.

Panel vans of the future
In the Belgian Ford works in Genk, the Ford Mondeo and Ford Transit models are manufactued. In addition to the 1970 Mondeos that are produced there daily, the brand new Transit models are also due to be rolling off the line as of January 2000. An output of 415 vehicles per shift is planned. Six months later, the starting signal for production in the Southampton works in England will be the given, with a capacity of 445 Transits per shift. At both sites, new body shops will be taken into operation, built especially for these projects.

The production lines are basically built according to the "Focus concept". The relevant signals are exchanged with the Rockwell PLCs via INTERBUS. In contrast to Focus, Ford has opted for the absolute universality of INTERBUS in the Transit production. IP20 and ST modules, IP54 motor control switches as well as IP65 sensor/actuator boxes (SAB) are used. Uniform diagnostics of the INTERBUS modules used ensures the requirements of on-site maintenance are fulfilled.

The Belgian company, GTI Electro Thijshe, also consistently applies the motor control switch concept in floor conveyors, lifts and electric telphers (EHB) in combination with INTERBUS ST modules and SAB.

A novelty in the plant engineering of the Transit is the integration of the intelligent INTERBUS Remote Field Controller (ST RFC). Pico GmbH, Cologne, uses these devices in their Bodyside Lines and Framing Lines, to dock mobile functional units in and out without any interruptions. These form independent sub bus systems, each having one ST RFC as master to which sensor/actuator boxes are connected to receive digital signals. The existing slave interface also connects the master via INTERBUS to the higher-level controller, in this case, a Rockwell PLC5.

"The open concept of INTERBUS makes it best suited for our applications."

	Philippe Verbeeck, Senior Engineer Maintenance & Equipment at Ford in Genk

We have more than 18 press lines of between 400 and 1,000 tons, plus four other transfer presses, one of which is 6,200 tons and was one of the largest presses in Europe for a long time. Most of the presses originate from the period between 1962 and 1968. Since they no longer complied with European standards, we had to rebuild. We decided to work with a standardized component structure, the communication of which is based on INTERBUS

What requirements do you make of this component structure?

When we rebuilt the press shop, it was important for us to choose a uniform standard. We wanted to structure our 111 presses identically. Since the press lines were provided by different suppliers, hoewever, they also had different automation systems. Safety PLCs and good diagnostics options played an important role in the selection of our standard.

Why did you select INTERBUS?

1. We wanted a system that required little project planning and installation.
2. Only little cabling is required, reducing costs and minimizing the error rate.
3. Each modern robot, each PLC has a direct connection to a bus system. There is no need for parallel interfaces across the I/O level.
4. Conventional technology would have required twice as many switch cabinets. Bus technology saved so much cabinet space that we can now integrate many more elements than before.
5. In the case of a malfunction, we can replace a module quickly.
6. If required, the open system allows plant extensions without any problems.
7. Costs have dropped due to the standardization of the INTERBUS installation. Moreover, all staff members can go through the same qualification process.

How long must an INTERBUS system be product compatible?

Considering that a press shop has a life expectancy of 30 to 40 years, the investments made are of long-term character. Therefore we need components that remain stable and do not change each year. Many manufacturers provide new functions for their products from one year to the next which is not always of advantage to us. A conversion takes us five years. In this period we would then have to cope with different components. We would also run the risk of not being able to get hold of spare parts in some years. This results in a loss in production and real costs.

How did PHOENIX CONTACT manage to be put on the short list?

The fact that it was a large project meant that various suppliers were involved. We compared all systems and chose the system whose open concept made it the most suitable for our application. In the meantime, INTERBUS has also become a standard in body construction.