Datalogging Pumpstand - Watertechniek Teunissen

What is the data logging for Watertechniek Teunissen?

This data logging is a replacement of an old instrument, with new, modern technologies. Watertechniek Teunissen specializes in pump technology and piping, they also repair pumps. After a pump was repaired, it was tested using an analog flow meter and an analog pressure gauge. This was replaced with a new piping system with a digital flow meter and a digital pressure meter, connected to a PLC controller and a Mini-PC.

About the assignment

Watertechniek Teunissen had this assignment available and I chose it as the final project for my high school. The physical part was already built, the software part was still completely missing.

Implementation

First of all, I got in touch with a teacher (Benny Kox), about this project. I worked with him to bring this project to a successful end. Benny Kox programmed the PLC control together with me. The PLC in question is an S7-1200 series PLC made by Siemens.

In addition, I made a list of parts we would need. That list included an Intel NUC, which is a small and compact mini-PC. Also on this list were some accessories such as a monitor, keyboard, mouse and Ethernet cable. The Ethernet cable was used to connect the PLC to the mini-PC.

I used Node.js, PostgreSQL, ExpressJS, Socket.io and Bootstrap to create a web app that runs on the mini-PC. The technician can then start the logging with a mouse click, which will wait for the PLC to turn on the pump, and take measurements in the meantime. When the PLC turns off the pump and the cycle is finished, it will stop and process the results. A few seconds later, the technician will see a page with information about the cycle and the option to print a graph or export a CSV file with the raw data.

Award

This project also won an award presented by Stad Lommel. This award was "Best thesis of 2020." It was quite an honor for me to receive this award. In addition, with this award I received a gift certificate for the Standaard Boekhandel with which I ended up buying the book "The C++ Programming Language" by Bjarne Stroustrup.