FCS Automation, Services

Machine Builders

We can provide the following services:

Electrical Control System design.
PLC system design.
PLC programming, our main areas of expertise lie in Siemens S7,S5 & Allen Bradley.
HMI programming, again our main areas of expertise lie in Siemens & Allen Bradley.
Scada programming, WinCC, RS view etc.
Motor Control, including AC/DC drives, motion control, servo etc.
AutoCAD based electrical draughting.
Commissioning Services both in the UK and Internationally.

We also have links to panel builders and mechanical engineering companies and are willing to discuss any project that you may want to "outsource".

We designed and implemented a high-speed inspection system for a client based around Siemens S7. The client, the machine-rebuilding arm of a major tobacco manufacturer, was looking to replace their existing Siemens Step 5 based control system with a more modern system. The existing system was based around a custom build card, supplied by the original machine manufacturer. We were able to re-design the system from first principles, using standard components available form the Siemens S7 range, allowing the customer to offer this system, without the cost of developing the custom card. The system was designed, coded and commissioned on time and on budget.

We have recently completed a Siemens Graph 7 based project for a major international converting machine manufacturer. The machine produced was a fully automated slitting machine, which needed to achieve not only robust operation, but also superb manual control and system re-initialising. The previous generation of machine required a substantial amount of time to re-initialise, along with well trained and technically competent personnel. The machine we have just completed performs the same task at the touch of a button, allowing the procedure to be carried out by the machine operators. This project has led to the machine having a much greater level of reliability and has cut commissioning and training time by substantial margins.

We have also designed a number of Allen Bradley and Siemens control systems for bottling lines all over the world. End users have included such blue chip companies as Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. These systems were all based around touch screen operator interfaces, the latest field bus technologies and inverter-motor piggyback combinations. These systems were designed and coded by ourselves and the commissioning was carried out by FCS engineers in some cases, and by the customers engineers in others.

End Users

We can provide the following services:

Electrical Control System design.
PLC system design.
PLC programming, our main areas of expertise lie in Siemens S7,S5 & Allen Bradley.
HMI programming, again our main areas of expertise lie in Siemens & Allen Bradley.
Scada programming, WinCC, RS view etc.
Motor Control, including AC/DC drives, motion control, servo etc
AutoCAD based electrical draughting.
Commissioning Services both in the UK and Internationally.

We also have links to panel builders and mechanical engineering companies and are willing to discuss any project that you may want to "outsource".

We have a very successful track record of new projects and also retro fitting existing plant and machinery. We have undertaken projects for major blue chip organisations, including the MOD, British Airways, Coca Cola, Philip Morris, Tetrapak, United Paper Mills and many other UK and international companies, both large and small.

We are a very responsive organisation, and we understand that projects must come in on time and budget. To date all of FCS automation retro fit installation projects have re started and been in production on time and have fully satisfied all of our customers requirements.

Example Projects undertaken include:

British Airways Cargo Handling System

We designed, manufactured and commissioned the control system for the new "Apollo" cargo handling facility at British Airways Gatwick World Cargo centre. The project was designed around a user wish list of features and has proved to be a huge success. The operator interfaces have proved to be intuitive to use, leading to a low training overhead for the operators. The cargo facility has proved itself more than capable of handling the daily throughput of one of the UK's busiest airports including such peak times as the annual Beaujolais run.

BPI plastics

We have designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned two winder control systems for this major UK manufacturer of shrink-wrap film. The first machine had been in production since the early 1980's and the control system had become unsupportable. The project involved designing the system to interact with some existing control equipment on the machine, as well as installing and commissioning the system in 4 days. The project was a success, with the line starting up on time and entering production after only 6 hours of commissioning. The company were so pleased with the project, that when they found themselves in a similar situation, they ordered another system.