A Fresh Engineer (Customer) asked a question.
What water pump should I use for a PLC system? Hydraulic, electric?
From what I read online, the easiest way to control a pump using a PLC is to buy an electric pump. I have also heard that it is possible to control hydraulic pumps. I need to buy a water pump that is rated for at least 1500psi and also can work with a plc. The problem is finding an electric pump that can support 1500psi is hard to find and it's also really expensive. I need this pump just to simply get to a certain pressure and hold it there for a certain amount of time using the plc. If anyone has any other suggestions for what water pump to buy that would work with my project, then that would be great.
It sounds like you might be in over your head. What exactly are you trying to do? What flow rate do you need? Most common electric water pumps aren't going to generate anywhere near that pressure. You're most likely looking at a hydraulic system. There are some air driven liquid pumps that are "reasonably" priced. See below:
High Pressure Air Driven Liquid & Pneumatic Pump | High Pressure Technologies LLC.
I am trying to create an automated pressure testing unit. Basically, this unit will start by a person typing in a certain pressure, and how long to hold that pressure in the system. I don't need to worry about flowrate or anything really. All I need is a pump that can get up to a certain pressure then it will be cut off and the pressure will be held in a closed system for a certain amount of time. My question is though, how would I code a PLC to control that hydraulic system or air system? Can a PLC control an air or hydraulic driven system well enough that that the pressure will stay constant? I already have an air pump that is rated for that pressure that I am using now, I am not sure how I would connect and control that using a PLC though.
I don't know what your project is but if you are needing to pump water at that kind of pressure i would be looking at pressure washers and if you need to vary the pressure some kind of voltage to pressure regulator. Hydraulic pumps will easily tun at that kind of pressure but i believe most require the lubricity of the oil and will have a much shorter service life with water as the pressurized fluid.
I have an air driven pump already that is rated for 1800 psi. I use it to manually bring the pressure up in the testing system and once it's at the pressure I want, I cut the pump off. I am not sure how I would connect and control the air pump using the plc. All I need the PLC to do is bring the pump up to pressure and cut it off once it gets there.
you could use a pressure transducer to read the pressure in the line and when it reaches setpoint turn the output off.
https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/shopping/catalog/sensors_-z-_encoders/pressure_sensors/digital_pressure_switches_-z-_transmitters/eps25-3620-1003
Thank you. I will do some research and see how I can also add solenoid-controlled pressure relief valves to the system for safety. Probably will just code them so they activate when the pressure is higher than what was inputted. Not sure if there is an easier way to do that.
If your water pump is air controlled,u need this :NITRA Current To Pneumatic Transducer: 4-20 mA input, 3-120 psig output (PN# NCP1-20-3120N) | AutomationDirect ,
PLC with analog Input and output + pressure feedback.
None of the transducers on the automation direct website have the psi that I am looking for which is at least 1500psi. Is there any other way to control an air driven pump with a PLC?
1500PSI:
Pressure Transmitter: 0 to 1500 psig, SS element, 4-20mA, 6.6ft cable (PN# SPT25-20-1500A) | AutomationDirect
the only way to control an air controlled water pump is to control the amount of air,.. so no other way....
to control air controlled water pump, u dont need transducer 1500psi,your 0-120PSI transduser will control 0-1500PSI of water pressure.