ATEX mixers in paint mixing shed

This project began in July 2021 and was completed in September of the same year. Indacon Ltd designed and built the control panel. Also we installed the containment system, field control stations, wiring and power supply. The installation consists of 8 individual ATEX mixers/agitators installed in a zone 1 area. The mixers each have one motor, 7 of them controlled by Siemens soft starts and one by a WEG inverter.

As an ATEX installation within a zone 1 area only ATEX certified equipment suitable for that zone can be installed. Therefore, the control panel had to be installed in a room adjacent to the mixing shed. Once we decided the position of the control panel we then had to plan our route to each of the mixers.

We installed 18″ ladder containment from the control panel and around the mixing shed with a short drop of 6″ heavy duty tray down to each of the mixers. The ladder is suspended from the ceiling using M10 threaded rod at approximately every 2 metres.

The panel was built specifically for the 8 mixers that it controls. It was sized to allow plenty of space inside with room for expansion in the future. The brains of this control panel is a Siemens S7 1200 PLC with input/output expansion cards. Emergency stop buttons and safety interlocks from each of the mixers come back to the PILZ safety relays.