Automated Brazing Furnaces for Malco Tools

Malco Tools acquired the original Irwin Vice Grips manufacturing facility in Nebraska and needed to install two new automated brazing furnaces to meet their production demand.

Corso Systems worked with the Premier Furnace Specialists who designed and built the furnace to implement a fully automated, recipe-based control system. We leveraged Inductive Automation’s Ignition SCADA platform for local and remote operation of the furnace along with fully integrated alarm notifications, process historian functionality, and batch reporting.

SCADA & PLC Solution

• Allen Bradley CompactLogix PLCs

  • Automated control of three temperature zones using PID loops

  • Atmosphere injection logic based on process temperature

• Inductive Automation’s Ignition SCADA platform, including:

  • Recipe Management to run a variety of parts at the push of a button

  • Built-in Process Historian for data collection, trending, and production batch reporting

  • Alarm notifications for critical process alarms via email

• OnLogic ML500 form factor Panel PCs

• Remote control capability through Malco Tools VPN

PLC and SCADA Implementation Summary

With our experience in SCADA Systems for heat treatment operations, Corso Systems engineers rapidly developed and deploy a SCADA solution to meet Malco Tools’ needs.

The requirements were to build a recipe management system to control the temperature of the furnaces in three zones and to set the speed of the mesh belt running parts through the furnace. Additionally the system would need to set the hold time of the parts in the furnace, and manage atmosphere injection into the furnace based on temperature. Our solution included a screen to create and edit recipes when an elevated user was logged in, and a dropdown selection with push button start for operators to begin a production batch.

Once a product batch was started it was largely left to run unattended, so alarm notifications for critical process alarms were one of the top priorities. This functionality was handled using the Alarm Notification Module from Inductive Automation Ignition.

The PLC logic was assembled largely from Corso Systems library of heat treatment blocks, managing temperature control, atmosphere control, belt operation, and furnace startup procedures with few custom modifications.

The project also included Corso Systems standard maintenance screens for PLC status, I/O monitoring, alarm management, and security—providing full visibility into the status of the entire furnace without ever having to open a control panel.

Result

This project enabled Malco Tools to manufacture its Eagle Grip line of pliers and clamps in the USA, with full repeatability batch over batch—all while leveraging automation to keep labor costs low. Malco more than doubled their production capacity at this facility, allowing them to meet the demand of having their products rolled out to Amazon and big box hardware stores.