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Siemens Instrumentation used in milling process

Background

Carr’s Flour is one of the most established mills and has three sites across the UK. This case study refers to its Maldon mill in Essex. The mill partnered up with Siemens via its technical partner Process Instruments and installed SITRANS LR560 radar transmitter for solids level measurement on top of all 26 silos in the mill.

Challenge

Previously Carr’s used manual level measurement to monitor inventory. This occurred by a worker having to climb eight flights of stairs and use a tape measure to manually dip the silos and convert the resulting measurement into a volume of grain. This is not a good use of time!

The silos themselves posed a challenge to the overall level measurement as 14 of the 26 silos have “cheese wedge” shape, slicing down into a sharp, narrow point. However, with the transmitter’s narrow four-degree beam angle, SITRANS LR560 can easily measure into the sharp cone area.

Solution

SITRANS LR560 was effortless to install and set up, using the device’s Quick Start Wizard. The transmitters transfer their level readings through a 4 to 20 mA connection to a central location on the ground, where operators can monitor grain inventory accurately.

The company also installed the SITRANS AS100 acoustic sensor which notifies operators in case of a no flow situation in the pipe carrying raw grain to the screw conveyors loading the storage silos. Another product which was fitted at the same time was the Siemens SITRANS LPS200 level paddle switches which monitor high and low levels on a small stainless steel service hopper containing gluten.

Result

With all of this instrumentation from Siemens and Process Instruments, Carr’s Flour is able to produce thousands of tons of flour each and every year with much more efficiency, meaning lots of happy customers!

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Equipment Supplied