completing the implementation of V Furnace upgrade following the commissioning last year. Improvements are being applied while the elements that did not prevent the system being handed over to production are completed alongside production requirements. We are also very excited to have received the order to upgrade a Cincinnati CNC at Aberlink. We have started ordering the materials and project initialisation tasks.

(The following are current and recently completed projects...)

Upgrade of Cincinnati 840 machine centre from Siemens to Fanuc control and drives. This includes replacing 240VAC solenoid control circuit for 24VDC as well as other improvements to the machine.

Working with Mechatherm on the upgrade of a batch furnace control system. The upgrade is from a Rockwell PLC-5 system to Control Logix that involved an IO conversion rack and the retension of the Profinet network that links to Siemens drives. The batch furnace is at Arconic, Kitts Green and includes a FactoryTalk SCADA.

A Heating Control Upgrade to a Rockwell Control Logix system including Ethernet, deviceNet, Modbus and Modbus/IP networks of a heat treatment line at ALCOA, Kitts Green.The SCADA was developed with InTouch.

A Heating Control Upgrade to a Rockwell Control Logix system including Ethernet, deviceNet, Modbus and Modbus/IP networks of a heat treatment line at ALCOA, Kitts Green.The SCADA was developed with InTouch.

A large BMS project for a manufacturing site. Schneider Electric in Chippenham are engineering the project and we are helping with panel design, specification writing and coding.

as well as some support and small control improvements we have started a new 4 pump station at Dovercourt. This will also have the trusted Rockwell 5/05 PLC and a PanelView Plus over Ethernet.

We have replaced the control systems on two water pumping sites that have been controlled using Schneider hardware and will be using Rockwell. The control phylosophy follows on from previous projects we have completed at nearby sites. These sites use Rockwell SLC processors.

We assisted MR Control Ltd in commissioning a waste wood pellet mill plant near Huntingdon. The system creates wood pellets from waste wood that can be burned in wood burners for heat or energy generation. This plant is auxillary to the waste wood fuel production also located at this site. This is a Rockwell Control Logix system.

We were called to travel to Argentina in December to help commissioning what turned out to be two water intake Bosker systems by the Parana river, one at Belgrano (Campana) and the other at San Martin (Rosario). They feed two new gas fired power plants. At Belgrano the water is pumped to top up a radiator style cooling system whereas at San Martin the water is re-circulated directly as the inlet is adjacent to the plant. These were Siemens S7 PLCs with a small HMI each.

We were called out to fix a faulty input to the system. The backwash pressure pumps were tripping out because the pressure OK input was not working. The software was re-written to use a different input and the wiring changed to suit. A fuse to the input block module was also replaced.

We have completed a FAT on the panel that consisted of mechanical, electrical, interface and process testing. Simulation modules built into the control logic were used to witness the sequence and control modes. Level sensors were connected to check and calibrate the analogue input loops. Some final modifications are to be completed as the panel is shipped and installed.

We have upgraded the communications link between the Factiry Link and the SYMAX PLCs to Ethernet. An EPE5 module was added to HHT-C and rack addressed with 2000 registers. Communications code transfers data to HHT-A and HHT-B on timed interrupt and triggers to maximise efficiency.

A large project involving 12 outsations (with Modicon M340 and TWIDO PLCs) and a scheduling Hot Standby pair of Modicon Quantum PLCs is nearly ready for FAT. Schneider Electric in Chippenham are engineering the project and we are coding the outstations and commissioning them as they are delivered to site (Embankment, London). A phase 1 where outstations os/1 and os/2 were completed and commissioned earlier this year.

Tendring Hundred Water Services is now Veolia Water East. We upgraded two sites to Ethernet communications from DH485 and DH+. Horsley Cross now has a Rockwell 5/05 PLC and a new PanelView Plus HMI. Elmstead Market also has a new Rockwell 5/05 PLC, but the existing PanelView Plus was re-configured from DH+ to Ethernet communications.

Working with Daval Controls Ltd, we are writing the PLC and HMI code for a three station robot (KUKA) sub-assembly cell. This cell is controlled using a Siemens IM-151 and an Ethernet network.

Aggregate Industries in Calne are getting ready in anticipation of forthcoming orders. One of their S5 controllers has failed and we are working to get the machine up and running.

Additional control logic and an HMI screen has been added for a flow valve in the Horsley Cross supply in order to deliver water as a ratio of required flow.

A final visit to Germany to complete the Irsching 4 side of this water intake rake and filter system for the cooling of a gas power plant near Ingolstadt (home of Audi). This system has three Siemens 315-2DP PLCs and three HMIs networked with MPI and Profibus.

We are currently designing the control logic for a raking system for an Aluminium plant water intake in Qatar. The system includes a ControlLogix PLC and PanelView HMI.

We have completed the commissioning of a seat assembly jig controlled by an SLC 500 with ethernet at JCI. The system includes a Decade monitoring unit, a torque controller and barcode scanner as well as the clamps and actuators.

After a clossure, Aggregate Industries in Calne have started limited production and we were called in to restore the program in one of the three barcode lines after a power supply failure on power-up.

Following the replacement of the cheese brake, we attended site to tune the software control to suit the new parameters.

We continue to develop software for control synchronisation between the Clacton pumping stations, Horsley Cross Tower and Elmstead Market pumping station. We are working for Tendring Hundred. The controls are Rockwell PLCs with PanelViewPlus HMIs.

We have completed the development of another Bosker raking machine control system. This has three channels with corresponding Bandscreens. The system consists of an S7 PLC and relevant HMI (OP177B) and is being developed for Garnham Switchgear.

We have completed development of the control for East & West Clacton pumping stations for Tendring Hundred. The control consistes of two Rockwell PLCs with PanelViewPlus HMIs.

We have some final commissioning for a twin language Bosker raking machine control system with split control over four channels with also includes fixed rakes and bandscreens for Irsching in Germany for Garnham Switchgear. The system consists of three S7 PLCs , relevant HMIs (OP177B) and includes a profibus and an MPI network.

We have developed and tested a remote dial-up kit for remote programming of S7 and SLC PLCs. The kit allows PSTN and GSM access with MPI and DF1 serial protocols. This kit is for a customer for whom we have developed panels for and may be required to assist with remote commissioning and upgrade options.

We assisted with the modifications to a robot MIG welding cell that is now required for a new product line. Working with Daval Controls we have written and commissioned the new tooling sequences and assisted with the overall engineering implementation.

We are still using this site to test various presentation approaches. The family tree PDF link has been replaced by an HTML/UML solution with the help of the good people at GedHTree. This is a far better solution to the rather large PDF file, which is being maintained for paper copies and CD releases (as it is a tidy and concise presentation in these formats). The music tracks are also huge files, but are streamed using FLASH. This helps a bit, but they can still take 15 seconds on a basic broadband connection.

The family trees of ANNESS, CAVE, COLLINGS, FORTUNE, WILTSHIRE & WYATT have been compiled to PDF and included on this site. The WILTSHIRE line goes tentatively back to c.1500 and includes some pictures of the family from as far back as the mid 19th century. It can be found under the After Hours section Family Tree.

I have finally got a Missing Link 'Jukebox' working with a dozen tracks that can be listened to online using JavaScript. It is found under the After Hours section Music Box.

We have still not completed the Spanish translations! Sorry to all our Spanish (only) speaking friends, who will not understand this apology either! Note that certain pages will remain only in English. I haven't yet figured out an automatic Babelfish conversion algorythm, so frequently updated pages (such as this one) will remain in God's own language.

We are looking to develop links with companies in Bilbao. This has stemmed from a personal requirement (my wife is from Bilbao) and we hope that a stronger Swindon-Bilbao link may result.

The registration and login facilities are in place. This is a facility for existing customers at the moment and is still fairly limited as our databases are in the process of being filled in.

A database with information on the period 383 AD to 1069 AD has been brought on line. The front end was written in JAVA with the connection made to an SQL server (MySQL). The original database was compiled using Foxpro (DBF). Please visit it under the After Hours section. Data will be updated on a continuing basis, when time permits. It is found under the After Hours section Darkage Database.