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MW100 Wireless System for Process Flow Integration

Industry: Mineral Processing

Product: Network Solutions

MW100 with Wireless Ethernet

Introduction

A mineral processing company began a project to replace an

aging SCADA system that monitors remote process flow

data. The existing system is a large, multi-node i nstall ation

based on standalone RTUs wit h rad io communications to a

central processor. Distance between loc atio ns is measured

in miles.

The data acquisition system would need to interface via

Modbus to the plant’s DCS system. Yokogawa proposed a

solution that included using an MW100 data acquisition

system, along with wireless Frequ ency Hopping Ethernet

radios. This data would be communicated back to a central

control station that would run Wonder ware HMI software to

monitor and record the data.

Application

The customer’s process involves hun dreds of wells where

water is pumped into dry lake beds, and then pumped out to

extract natural minerals. The customer is measuring flow

using Yokogawa’s magnetic flo wmeters in various remote

locations on site. This data is then communicated wirelessly

to a SCADA RTU system, and eventually to their DCS. The

customer’s current system was not supported locall y; the

program was written in C Language, which made system

changes difficult and costly. Also, if communication was lost

from the RTU back to the main CPU, there was no way to

retrieve the lost data. With changes in process managers

coming in the near future, they needed a simple solution tha t

plant technicians could eas ily maintain.

Solution

A Yokogawa MW100 data acquisition system with wireless

Ethernet connectivity was chosen to replace the SCADA

system. Yokogawa supplied not only the MW100 data

acquisition system, but also the wireless radi os, on-site

engineering, start–up and training for the customer to deliver

a turn key solution. The MW100 also provide s redundant,

compact flash data storage for the valuable process d ata.

Using a web browser, the customer can now configure

changes to the system and view real time trend data from

any location. Yokogawa also supplied the hardware and

engineering for the Modbus gateway used to interface the

customer’s DCS to the system. Since this was a multi-phase

project, the system architecture allows the customer to add

extra MW100 systems without additional engineering.