High-Performance Rugged Industrial Computers to Support Uninterrupted Steel Plant Operation in India

Location: India

Customer: Steel plant of the largest steel-making company in India

Application: System terminals for MES and yard management

As one of the largest steel-making companies in India and one of the Maharatnas of the country’s Central Public Sector Enterprises, our customer produces iron and steel at five integrated plants and three special steel plants, located principally in the eastern and central regions of India and situated close to domestic sources of raw materials. It manufactures and sells a broad range of steel products, including slabs, pipes, coils, and so on.

In 2022, one of customer’s steel plants activated a new production shop of hot-rolled coil and was searching for rugged industrial-grade computers which could withstand extreme operating environments while offering reliable performance. The steel plant is using manufacturing execution systems (MES) and a yard management system from a big Japanese IT solution provider, who used to work with Advantech’s DLT series of industrial computers on some port projects in Japan. They were impressed by the ruggedness and durability of the DLT series. Therefore, the Japanese solution provider has recommended Advantech’s DLT series for the steel plant. Advantech’s DLT-V83 Series industrial computers were installed in all crane cabins at both the slab yard and coil yard, and were used as system terminals for MES and the yard management system.

• High durability for harsh operating environments

• Fanless with an IP66 rating, protected against dust ingress
• Reliability for 24/7 operation
• Vibration and impact resistant
• Durable resistive touch screen

Rugged Industrial Computers for the Toughest Environments 

The biggest challenge in a hot-rolled coil production shop is dealing with high temperature and humidity. Hot-rolled coils are made from steel slabs, which are reheated, rolled, cooled, and coiled. Slabs are reheated to approximately 1200 °C or higher to make it easier to shape them into thin steel sheets. The whole production shop is constantly over 50 °C and the humidity level is at 90%. Advantech’s DLT series industrial computers are designed to reliably operate in these sorts of harsh conditions. Featuring a wide operating temperature range (-30 ~ 50 °C / -22 ~ 122 °F), and operating humidity range from 10% to 90%, full IP66 rating, and fanless design, the DLT series can withstand heat, cold, humidity, water and dust. Additionally, all DLT series  are 5M3-certified for shock and vibration tolerance making them ideal for operating on moving vehicles and cranes.

Optimized Productivity and Minimized Downtime for Around-the-Clock Operations

To meet the surging domestic demands during the post-pandemic period, this new production shop has been working 24/7, producing one hot-rolled coil every 3 minutes. To optimize existing manufacturing processes, the crane operators need to quickly and accurately follow the instructions from the MES system and yard management system. The 26 hotkeys on the front of DLT-V8315 are programmed and linked with a user-friendly Advantech software keyboard to provide an easy-to-use system interface and efficient data input. Additionally, the CFast card slot under the red cap of the DLT-V83 series allows for easy system maintenance without removing the whole device from the crane cabin, thus eliminating operational downtime.