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Omron equipment facilitates Bilbao Subway |
UTE, a joint-venture formed by Cenia Lifts and Thyssen Boetticher, signed a contract with the Basque Department of Transport and Public Works for the supply and installation of 41 escalators for a new subway line in Bilbao, Spain.
Escalators controlled by Omron PLCs
The subway network forms a Y figure, and the lines from its 3 farthest points, Plentzia, Santurtzi and Basauri, join at Elorieta Station, in central Bilbao. The project was both large and complex, requiring careful consideration of the subsoil beneath the lines and the unique design characteristics of the city itself.
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One of the key parts of making the stations on the line as convenient as possible was, of course, the placement and installation of the escalators. Omron C200H PLCs were installed in each of the escalators, and configured to communicate with remote control stations using PROFIBUS communications and RS485 connections. The system uses modular PLCs, and features removable EPROM chips to store all control, operations and communications software. The system also includes LEDs, used to display escalator status and alert operators of any faults or short circuits that might occur.
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They are also equipped with standard communication ports, enabling connection to remote control and communications equipment. An open communications protocol allows on-line access to all variables, facilitating the reading and writing of data through the serial port, as well as signal enquiry and override. Programming, editing, and operational monitoring of the I/O signals can all be done remotely from a PC.
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The PLCs include self-diagnostic systems capable of handling all types of operational faults. Minimum diagnosis checks scan for such problems as CPU faults, power faults, and I/O module faults.
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Thanks to the integration of a by-pass connection, the network remains unaffected even if a PLC is temporarily disconnected. If a PLC experiences a voltage fault, the escalator shuts down and can only be restarted manually. For added safety, the protection devices that activate the emergency shutdown are integrated directly into the power supply equipment.
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The PLCs used in this project offer exceptionally high reliability, complying with all of the following test specifications: IEC 68-2-6 (vibration tests) and IEC 68-2-27 (shock tests).
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