Case Study: Nuova CIBA

Nuova CIBA is an historical company in Reggio Emilia, so important for Industrial Automation for the rubber industry that amongst its major customers, for more than 30 years, includes not only the world’s largest tire manufacturers, but also technical product makers and mixers for third parties. Established in 1960, since its foundation the company specialized in the design and production of complete systems for storage, transportation, weighing and dosage of solids, powders and liquids for rubber mixing lines, mainly for tires, but cables and different applications as well.

The strength of Nuova CIBA lies mainly in the realization of long distance pneumatic transports, up to 200 meters and in its ability to guarantee a continuous and reliable monitoring system thanks to the integrated CAMLogic systems.

Although Nuova CIBA was acquired in 2018 by the German group Zeppelin, in fact, the relationship with CAMLogic is so cemented that it continues unchanged even after the passage of the baton from the founders to the new group and management.

“The relationship with CAMLogic is cemented by a decades-long collaboration that is handed down from generation to generation in our company. We always use CAMLogic level indicators not only because we are very satisfied with the product quality, extremely reliable and durable, but also for CAMLogic willingness to customize it according to our various demands.” Simone Alessandri, Purchase Manager for Nuova Ciba

The Industrial Automation by Nuova CIBA has a mechanical and an electrical part, and both work non stop. It is therefore essential for the level indicators to have a considerable resistance, especially when it comes to supplies for foreign markets, where any assistance would be the origin of costs and times not acceptable for the client, whose plants, in the majority of cases, must work and produce 24/7 for 340 days a year.

Another demand met by CAMLogic for Nuova CIBA when designing the system is the differentiation of the control systems according to the loading and unloading operations, materials or silo dimensions. Let’s see how.

To solve the needs of Nuova CIBA, CAMLogic studied the Industrial Automation process that loads powders, oils and rubber and all the other components in a closed mixer to create the compounds.

The first step is the automated storage of powders (mainly carbon black and silica) from the tanker truck in large silos. It is an operation that requires a durable level indicator, such as the PFG05 model, often customized with adjustable extensions in different lengths, the most common being L=1000 with protection up to L=400 mm. To allow the paddle to be moved the protruding shaft of 600 mm is drilled and adjusted to the specific needs of every plant. In cases in which encumbrance might be an impediment, the PFG57 model is preferred instead. The paddles chosen for this type of projects are mostly the AC4, made of nylon and with one blade or, in presence of low density materials like silica, the AC7 made of stainless steel.

On the weighing tanks and machinery along the pneumatic system, on the other hand, the level indicator PFG57 is often used because, thanks to the smaller size, it guarantees an easy installation even in tighter spaces.

It is installed via a flange, allowing for a larger mounting hole and the paddle installation without having to go through the access door to the silo, or through a threaded sleeve, to better resist the strong stresses during loading and unloading of the material.

For the tanks containing aggressive or corrosive substances like oils or liquid components for rubber, the float level indicator PFGLP22 is used with flanged connection. This level indicator does not require power supply and can be installed with different connections.

IThe constant and reliable monitoring, a priority for Nuova CIBA, has been guaranteed for decades by CAMLogic experience which boasts many collaborations for the control of hazardous materials. As is the case for Nuova Idropress, which uses CAMLogic level indicators in the processing of EPS.

CAMLogic products used in the project: