| Production Technology
designed and manufactured a control system for a test rig,
for recording the recoil time of the 155mm UFH
(Ultralightweight Field Howitzer), which has been developed
and manufactured by BAE Systems. The 155mm UFH has a muzzle
velocity greater than 800 m/s and a firing range up to 30
kilometres. |
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| The
control system controls a hydraulic clamp to hold the UFH in
place and then withdraw the barrel to a set distance. The
control system incorporates an Acurite encoder to display
the position of the pull-back cylinder to within 0.1mm. The
heart of the control system is a Mitsubishi FX PLC in
conjunction with a Beijer E200 HMI, which records the recoil
time of the UFH barrel. The HMI has the ability to be
connected directly to a printer to record all the times if
necessary. The HMI is also used to manually operate the
hydraulic clamp and pull-back cylinder, as well as for
diagnostics purposes. The speed and maximum pressure of the
pull-back cylinder can be set via the HMI to prevent any
damaged being caused to the inside of the barrel if they are
slightly misaligned. |
| The safety system
incorporates a Pilz safety relay and a Fortress trapped key
system. During testing the technicians are required to enter
the guarded area to couple the pull back cylinder to the UFH
barrel. The operator must remove the key from the control
panel to allow the gate to be opened. When the key is
removed from the control panel, the emergency relay is
activated and prevents the test rig from being operated. |
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