Panel forming line, rebuilt in eleven days

The challenge

The side-panel line ran on relay logic nobody on site had drawn in twenty years. Every stop meant hours of fault-finding, and spare parts came from scrapyards.

What we built

We traced and redrew the whole machine, then replaced it in stages: new PLC and remote I/O, a safety controller with zone-based stops and a SCADA overview the shift lead actually reads.

• Full simulation of the new logic against the old cycle before the shutdown
• Pre-wired cabinets tested in our hall, swapped over two weekends
• Alarm texts written with the operators, not for them

Results

The line restarted on day eleven and reached its old output in three shifts. Twelve months later OEE sits at 84% and unplanned stops are down by two thirds.