Scantime Automation & Training

Siemens S5 to Mitsubishi FX

Siemens S5 to Mitsubishi FX

In 2017, we were called to a Timber company to complete a risk assessment of their Automation equipment onsite, during this risk assessment we highlighted several areas of concern including a 27-year old Siemens S5 PLC that controlled a main part of their production line. When asked about this system, it was made apparent that the company had no spare parts for the Siemens S5 PLC, no backup program, no programming software and no contact with the original designer, all of these factors made this area of concern an area of high risk and it was agreed that this Siemens S5 PLC was to be replaced with a new PLC and a new program was to be designed.

During discussions with the company, it was decided that we would replace the now-obsolete Siemens S5 PLC with the new Mitsubishi FX-3GE PLC. One reason for this decision was that the majority of PLCs onsite were Mitsubishi PLCs and the company engineers were already trained in working with Mitsubishi PLCs.

A new PLC control panel was built and a PLC program was designed in the weeks leading up to the Summer shutdown, when the Summer shutdown arrived, the original Siemens S5 PLC was replaced and the new Mitsubishi FX-3GE PLC control panel was installed, the program was then downloaded and commissioned ready for production start up the following week.

The company now has an up to date control system with accurate program backups and local software support.