Projects & Consultation
What we do
A retrofit keeps a machine whose mechanics are sound and replaces the controls that have become the weak point: an obsolete PLC with no spares, relay logic nobody can trace, a DC drive that is getting harder to repair, or a panel extended so many times that faults take hours to find.
The riskiest part of a retrofit is capturing what the machine does now. Documentation is often missing, and the sequence lives in the memory of whoever has run it longest. The machine is surveyed and its full cycle recorded before any design work starts, so the new control does what the old one did, plus whatever was agreed should improve.
To keep the stop short, the new panel is built and tested before the machine is touched. The stop itself covers removing the old control, installing the new one and commissioning, and the machine's output is checked against figures recorded before the work began.
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Scope
What's covered
- Survey of the machine's existing controls, wiring and sequence
- Replacement of obsolete PLCs, drives, HMIs and relay logic
- Control panels built and tested off the machine to shorten the stop
- Safety circuits and interlocks brought up to current practice
- Diagnostics and fault messages added for operators and maintenance
- Updated drawings, programs and a performance check against the old machine
Questions
Machine Retrofit & Modernisation: common questions
Is a retrofit better than buying a new machine?+
When the mechanical structure, spindle, frame or tooling are still in good condition, a control retrofit usually costs much less than a new machine and keeps the tooling and know-how you already have. If the mechanics are worn out too, a new machine may make more sense. A survey of the machine answers that question first.
How long will the machine be out of production?+
Much less than the length of the project, because the panel is built and tested off the machine. The stop covers disconnection, installation and commissioning. The length depends on the machine, and it is agreed in writing before work starts.
We have no drawings for the machine. Can it still be retrofitted?+
Yes. The existing wiring is traced and the machine's cycle is recorded step by step, which produces the documentation the new control is designed from. You end up with drawings the machine never had.
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Written & reviewed by MachineryFix
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