PLC control

Now we can feel that more and more people tend to have a PLC control. After discussing with the clients, we found that everybody has different understanding on the PLC control. Someone though PLC means fully automation. Someone thought that only PLC is suitable for their plant. Someone though that PLC can do everything.

Most people have those wishes via using PLC:

• To have a higher automation/smarter control thus to reduce the labor or manual operation

Comment: Here are usually different understanding on the automation level for different people. A fully automated brewhouse design requires various electronic sensors (such as clearance inspection sensor, level sensor, gravity measurement sensor, foam sensor, bitterness sensor, pressure sensor etc.), and various automated valves, doors etc. So the investment will be really expensive and definitely no necessary for a microbrewery.

The next automation that most microbrewries prefer now is via using the pneumatic valves only (No other sensors). Since the pneumatic valves replace the manual butterfly valves, the brewmaster can control the on/off of the valves on the control panel, no need to go around the brewhouse. So it reduces the labor.

If you are expecting a fully automated control via PLC, it is not realistic as it is too much expensive, and it seems only one company can design it in the world. If you only use the PLC program and touch screen, but the valve is still manual, then the PLC will not show any advantage on reducing labor compared with the PID. Then PID is till recommended.

So if you really prefer the PLC, we recommend to use the pneumatic valves for the brewhouse.

But usually we do not recommend the PLC&touch screen for the FV control panel for 2 reasons:

• The fermentation control is so easy and simple that do not need the PLC control as the PLC will not add much convenience in this process, in turn it may make the process a little more complex. For example, The touch screen has limited space that can not show both the brewhouse and cellar on the same page, so we can not monitor the temperature of each fermenter on site unless we turn the showing-page on screen from brewhous to cellar.

• The temperature control in cellar is so important, the PID is safer as it is not like the PLC, if one PID control has problem, the other PID controls are not effected. If use PLC, if one programm has problem, the whole programm have to stop to be fixed. So PID is more suitable for cellar.

But if you prefer that the FV control panel have touch screen, we can combine them.