Sorting System Based on Weight and Metallic Characteristics of Objects using PLC
The manufacturing industry plays an important role in development of any country. The countries that have higher manufacturing rates are considered to be developed where as those with little manufacturing rates are considered as underdeveloped. In any industry special consideration is paid to avoid
2025-06-28 16:36:05 - Adil Khan
Sorting System Based on Weight and Metallic Characteristics of Objects using PLC
Project Area of Specialization RoboticsProject SummaryThe manufacturing industry plays an important role in development of any country. The countries that have higher manufacturing rates are considered to be developed where as those with little manufacturing rates are considered as underdeveloped. In any industry special consideration is paid to avoid any kind of damage to industrial equipment because of its expensive cost. In many cases the raw material used in manufacturing industry comes from scrap industry. The mixing of undesired material in the raw material can damage the industrial equipment. Therefore it is always desirable to sort out the raw material as per requirement. One of the way is to apply manual sorting of the materials. With the advancement in technology this sorting can now be done automatically. In this project we propose a system that sort objects on the basis of their weight as well as metallic and non-metallic properties, which is done with help of metal detector and load cell. Firstly, object will be weighted with the help of a load cell and at the same time another sensor will detect whether it is metal or not. If it is over weighted (weight greater than the capacity of the conveyor belt) an alarm will be generated and if it lies within given range of weight, a piston will push object to conveyor belt for further process.
Two pistons are installed on conveyor belt if the object is a metal and its weight lies in first specified range then first piston will be actuated to place object in the required bin and if it lies in second specified range then second piston will be actuated to place the object in the second bin. If it is detected as non-metal and weighs with in the capacity limit of the conveyor belt, it will be pushed to the conveyor belt and no piston will be actuated on conveyor belt and it will fall in a bin placed at the end of conveyor belt. All these functions are precisely controlled by programmable logic controller (PLC).
Project Objectives- Separation of Non-metallic Objects to Sort bin
- Sorting of metallic objects on basis of weight.
- Human Machine Interface (HMI) design for the project.
Software Implementation:
First of all we have used SolidWorks to create CAD model of our project. Using WinProladder software we build and tested ladder logic of our project. We have used Easybuilderpro software for the HMI design of project.
Hardware implementation
First of all we have made complete conveyor belt assembly involving conveyor belt and pistons placed on it. Weight measuring surface is made using Load cells with plastic plate place over it.
The symmetry is designed in a way that the object being placed on weight measuring surface is weighted and is classified as a metal or non-metal at the same time. For this purpose we placed the inductive proximity sensor beneath the weight measuring surface.
Benefits of the Project- Increasing economic growth by increasing rate of production through automation.
- To avoid carrying over weight material for safety of conveyor belt.
- Automated system of sorting objects to reduce human efforts.
Input field devices that are load cell, inductive proximity sensor and the photoelectric sensors give input to the PLC. The PLC reads the input from the input field devices process it according to the program burned in PLC and gives control signals to relays which in turn operates the output field devices to control the process as shown in the figure 1
Fig1.Block Diagram
Process Diagram
First of all the object will be placed on the weight measuring surface. If the object is beyond the capacity of conveyor it will generate an alarm. If the object lies in the capacity of the conveyor belt then first piston will actuate to push the object to conveyor belt. The conveyor belt will carry the object and no other piston will be actuated hence the object will be sorted to the bin placed at the end of conveyor. If the object is detected metal and it lies in small scale of weight so first piston will move the object to conveyor belt and when it reaches near proximity sensor 1 it will detect the object and send signal to PLC the PLC will actuate the piston no 2 to sort the object in the sort bin no 1. Similarly if the object is detected metal and lies in large scale of weight again first piston will move the object to conveyor belt, as it reaches the proximity sensor no 1 it will detect but first piston will not be actuated when it pass through proximity sensor no 2 it will send signal to PLC the PLC will actuate the piston no 3 to sort the object in the sort bin no 2 as shown in the figure 2. The flowchart of the complete process is shown in figure 3
Fig2.Process Diagram
Fig3. Flow Chart
HMI Interface for Load cell calibration
Human-Machine Interface (HMI) is a user interface or dashboard that connects a person to a machine, system. While the term can technically be applied to any screen that allows a user to interact with a device, in industries HMI is used to control and monitor industrial processes. We have built two screens for our project one belong to the calibration of the load cell and the other control and indicators.
For calibration process we note the raw reading values when no object is placed over the weight measuring surface and assign those values to register R1000 subsequently we place 1 kg of weight on weight measuring surface and then note the raw reading values and assign to register R1001 hence it displays weight of the object in grams and the sensor is calibrated. This HMI screen is shown in figure 4.
Fig. 4. HMI for calibration of Load Cell
The second HMI screen belongs to the monitoring and control of the complete process. For each activity an indicator is used. When any activity takes place the corresponding indicator is lit up. This HMI screen is shown if figure 5.
Fig. 5. HMI for Monitoring and control
Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemType of Industry Manufacturing Technologies RoboticsSustainable Development Goals Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Responsible Consumption and ProductionRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 79600 | |||
| FATEK PLC[FBS-32MAR] | Equipment | 1 | 18000 | 18000 |
| FATEK Expansion Module [FBS-1LC] | Equipment | 1 | 13000 | 13000 |
| Inductive Proximity Sensor | Equipment | 1 | 4000 | 4000 |
| Diffuse Type Photoelectric Sensor | Equipment | 2 | 2800 | 5600 |
| Conveyor Belt Assembly | Equipment | 1 | 15000 | 15000 |
| Electrical Pistons | Equipment | 3 | 2000 | 6000 |
| Relays | Equipment | 7 | 500 | 3500 |
| Load Cell | Equipment | 2 | 1000 | 2000 |
| Switch Mode Power Supply | Equipment | 1 | 2500 | 2500 |
| Wire Ducts | Miscellaneous | 1 | 4000 | 4000 |
| Din Rails | Miscellaneous | 1 | 6000 | 6000 |