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KDR Automation

New control systems, from first sketch to signed-off SAT.

From a single machine to a full production line, we take a control system all the way through: electrical design, panel build, PLC and HMI software, drives and servo motion, and commissioning on your site.

Control panel with a Mitsubishi FX5 PLC, servo amplifiers and inverters

What is included

  • Control philosophy and functional specification, agreed before any build starts
  • Electrical schematics and panel layout
  • Panel build, wired and labelled to a consistent standard
  • Structured, commented PLC programming
  • HMI screens with alarms, recipes and diagnostics that operators can actually use
  • Servo and inverter setup and tuning
  • Safety circuits designed around a risk assessment
  • Testing in our workshop, then installation, SAT and operator training

Built to be maintained

Every system is handed over with drawings, a fully commented program and a backup of the final software. If your maintenance team, or another integrator, needs to work on it in five years, they can.

Platforms

  • Mitsubishi FX5 and iQ-R PLCs, GOT HMIs, MR-J4 servo
  • Siemens S7-1200 and S7-1500, TIA Portal
  • Allen Bradley CompactLogix
  • Ignition for plant-level HMI and SCADA

Related projects

Mitsubishi FX5UC PLC with three 16-point output modules and orange spring clamp connectors, wired up for bench testing

Asphalt productionUpgrade

Asphalt plant filter valve control upgrade

A failed, obsolete control board on an asphalt plant's filter replaced with a Mitsubishi FX5UC PLC, now controlling 48 valves across multiple cleaning sequences.

Old control
Failed obsolete control board
New PLC
Mitsubishi iQ-F FX5UC
I/O
16 inputs, 64 outputs
Row of blue chilled water pumps with local isolators and insulated pipework in a plant room

DairyNew system

Chilled water and glycol plant control

Automation software for a new 2,000 kW refrigeration plant supplying chilled water at +2 °C and glycol at −2 °C, with four 20,000 litre stainless steel storage tanks.

Capacity
2,000 kW
Chilled water
+2 °C
Glycol
−2 °C
WinCC SCADA screen with a temperature transmitter faceplate open beside Vessel 2

PharmaceuticalNew system

Two-vessel process control on Siemens S7-1500

Control and SCADA for two process vessels with mixing, product pumping, load cells, temperature control and CIP, built on Siemens S7-1500 and WinCC Professional with a reusable library.

PLC
Siemens S7-1500
SCADA
WinCC Professional
Drives
Danfoss VSDs on PROFINET
Red rail-mounted precast concrete handling machine in a production shed

Precast concreteUpgrade

Precast handler control upgrade in a single day

Ageing Allen Bradley controls on a rail-mounted precast handler replaced with a Mitsubishi FX5UC, a new operator HMI and Weidmüller remote IO, installed and SAT tested in one day.

PLC
Allen Bradley to Mitsubishi FX5UC
Remote IO
Weidmüller UR20, Modbus TCP
On site
1 day, including SAT
Twin ultrasonic blades positioned over the cutting belt of a bakery machine

BakeryNew system

Twin-blade ultrasonic cake cutter

Control system for a twin-blade ultrasonic cutter for loaf cakes and tray bakes, with servo blade positioning, 100 product recipes and a 10 inch touchscreen.

PLC
Mitsubishi FX5
Motion
MR-J4 servo
HMI
Mitsubishi GOT, 10 inch

Common questions

Do you build the control panel as well as write the software?

Yes. We can supply the full package: electrical design, panel build, software and commissioning. We can also take on just the part you need, such as programming a panel built by your own electrical contractor.

Which PLC brand should we use?

Usually whatever your site already standardises on, so your maintenance team has the software, the training and the spares. If there is no standard, we recommend a platform based on the application, local support and parts availability.

Do you work with machine builders?

Yes. We provide control design, programming and commissioning for machine builders who want to concentrate on the mechanical side.

Do you test before installing?

Yes. Software is tested against the panel in our workshop before it goes to site, so time on your floor is spent proving the machine rather than finding wiring faults.

What documentation do we get?

Electrical drawings, the PLC and HMI programs with comments, backups of the final versions, I/O lists, and an operating and maintenance manual sized to the project.

Project enquiry

Got a machine that worries you?

A few details and a photo of the panel are enough to start. You will hear back directly from an engineer.

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