Product category:
Machine Safety Monitoring and Control
News Release from: Pilz Automation Technology | Subject: PSS 3100
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 06 February 2004
Programmable system safeguards container
terminal
A safe, open SafetyBus p system has been installed to guarantee the safe handling of containers on the gantries at Hamburg's new Altenwerder Container Terminal.
Hamburg harbour is growing: on 24th June 2002 the Hamburger Hafen - und Lagerhaus and Hapag-Lloyd started the first stage extension of the new Altenwerder Container Terminal (CTA) From the middle of 2004, 1.9 million shipping containers will be handled annually in an area measuring 225,000m2
CTA is one of the first with large-scale automation, with container gantries, cranes, automatic guided vehicles and railway loading gantries.
A safe, open SafetyBus p system is employed to guarantee the safe handling of containers on the gantries.
With 90 Pilz PSS programmable safety controllers and 45 bridge devices to link sections of the network, it is by far the largest installed SafetyBus p system to date.
When the extension is complete, four large container ships will be able to dock at the 1400m quayside.
Fast unloading and loading of the four vessels is guaranteed by the 14 Super Postpanmax container-gantries.
Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) then take the container and move it to a storage area located at the rear of the quayside.
Since the autumn of 2002, 11 of the 22 storage blocks have been available for use.
Each storage block has a capacity of 1480 containers, which are stockpiled in ten rows, with 37 storage positions, stacked up to four containers high.
During loading and unloading, speed is crucial.
Each block is spanned by one pair of rail-guided, automated gantry cranes; the larger, outer crane can operate over the smaller inner crane at any time, thus enabling both cranes to serve the complete block simultaneously.
To avoid congestion in the AGVs lane during delivery and removal of the containers, four transfer trailers are available for each block, arranged in parallel.
The larger gantry crane container handling is fully automated until it is just above the chassis.
The transfer process is then controlled remotely using a camera that relays images to a central control room, from where an operator completes the transfer.
The fully automated procedure is only possible because of the high-level information network.
System requirements include the safe operation of the emergency stop systems, the safe measuring of the weight and the overspeed of the lifting motion, complete with networked presentation providing detailed information and analysis.
A primary consideration was the reaction time, bearing in mind that the cranes move at speeds of up to 3m/s.
A further specialised requirement was the use of fibre-optic cable for the extension of the dock, and potential interference from electromagnetic radiation made the use of fibre optics mandatory; the distance from the electricity supply station is 700m and the crane has a 10kV supply.
SafetyBus p contributed to a significant reduction in wiring complexity.
Each crane has two programmable safety controllers (Pilz PSS 3100) for the control and analysis of the safety signals.
These are connected via fibre-optic cable and are linked to the distributed I/O modules at the input station.
Each local network is connected via a bridge and a higher-level controller.
The PSS controllers, in turn, establish a safe connection to the process control system.
In the completed system there will be 44 networks, each with two PSS 3100 safety controllers.
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