Wisconsin Oven upgrades curing control system

 

Wisconsin Oven (East Troy, Wis., U.S.) has announced release of the latest version of its established Wisconsin Premium Control System (WPCS) for data acquisition and control of the oven-based composites curing process. Featuring upgrades demanded by aerospace and other customers, WPCS offers high-level monitoring and control of all variables critical to consistent composites curing. The system, which can accommodate more than 100 thermocouples, monitors variables such as temperature and vacuum, and generates detailed reports that meet the requirements of AMS2750. WPCS also allows control based on air temperature or part temperature, with single or multi-zone options available, and leading, lagging, and controlled ramping.

Wisconsin Oven officials note that the upgraded WPCS features a relatively large volume of input options for temperature and pressure operating conditions. The system can be configured to control the recirculation blower, exhaust blower, vertical lift door, powered load cart, cooling systems, vacuum pumps and other equipment. Features include the ability to monitor, average and switch control from hottest to lowest temperature; the ability to control based on air or part temperature; the ability to monitor average temperature with high- and low-temperature awareness; guaranteed soak when all setpoints are in range; thermal overdrive to expedite heat-up without overshoot; and bleed-based, bag-by-bag vacuum control, with leak detection.

Other capabilities include full-featured alarming — active and historical for all process items; e-mail alarm notification; thermocouple status monitoring; automatic thermocouple burnout switching control; and onboard data logging and archiving. During a batch run, WCPS logs all alarms, thermocouple and vacuum readings, recipe name, recipe start/end date, minimum and maximum value during soak, any user-configurable batch fields and any changes to the process during a run. The time setting for the interval data can be user configured. WPCS can produce customized reports for automatic distribution within or without the fabricator’s network. 

The base WPCS system includes: Universal analog inputs (T/C, RTD, voltage or current), 4-20ma analog outputs, digital inputs (24 VDC) relay outputs, 17-inch touchscreen operator interface, Ethernet switch, NEMA12 enclosure, 24 VDC power (AC systems also available) and onboard data logging and archiving.

Available options include: Uninterruptible power supply (UPS), barcode scanner and remote access switch (Webport).