February 2018, Woerden - The Netherlands
When previously executed work leads to new assignments, we know that we did a good job. That is the case at Mirror Controls International (MCi) in Woerden. The company that produces actuators for exterior mirrors for the automotive industry, approached Elektro Internationaal in 2016 for the first time to create a test panel for the test laboratory at their head office in Woerden.
MCi has been making actuators since 1972 and has launched the world’s first ’mirror glass actuators’, actuators that are used to adjust the position of exterior mirrors from inside the car. The company is now world market leader. Another core product of the company concerns the ’power folding actuators’ that make it possible to collapse car door mirrors as a whole. MCi develops, designs and produces more than 60 million actuators per year. The company now has 850 employees and production facilities in Ireland, Mexico and China.
Performance under extreme conditions
The test panel that Elektro Internationaal developed in close collaboration with MCi tests the performance of the actuators under extreme conditions, which are simulated in a special climate chamber. The hardware and software register all movements, and store them in a database. If problems are detected in a series, it is possible to search for possible causes thanks to this data recording.
Integration of control disciplines
The hardware consists of electronic modules that control the actuators. These modules and the associated software have been developed by MCi. The monitoring and control is supported by a Beckhoff PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), type 9020. In this system, Elektro International brings together various disciplines of control, including application of PLC and HMI (Human Machine Interface), specially developed electronic modules and energy distribution panel construction. The different diagrams and the design for the construction of the panel were made by Elektro Internationaal in Eplan P8.
The test panel has been put to use to the full satisfaction of the customer. Elektro Internationaal is currently working on behalf of MCi on a comparable test panel for the production facility in Mexico. We also received an offer for a double version of the test panel for the test laboratory in Woerden.
