Panel Lab · Level 10 of 10
Commission the packing cell (capstone)
Level 10 of 10 in the Panel Lab: a free panel wiring exercise at Advanced level. Everything together: a belt starter, a 4-20 mA weigh pad, a pneumatic pusher with reed switches, and an E-STOP and gate that cut the whole cell. The FAT covers the cell from the first carton to the last.
Free · no download. Your work is saved on this device. Updated 18 Oct 2026.
The brief
- Work order
- WO-PS-1001
- Job
- Commission the packing cell
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Type of work
- Commissioning
- Detail
- 38 wires, lockout, meter checks and a PLC program
Meenakshi Spices, Madurai. Packing cell PC-1001 takes cartons along infeed belt TC-1001 (motor M1, 1.5 kW) to a weigh pad. A load cell amplifier WT1 gives 4 to 20 mA for 0 to 50 kg. A carton of at least 23 kg is pushed into the shipper by a pneumatic pusher Z1 on a 5/2 double-solenoid valve; a lighter carton must stop the cell with a fault. The E-STOP and the guard gate must stop the belt and the pusher together, hardwired. Control panel +F1001 has arrived with the power circuit, the 24 V supply and the analog module powered. The control wiring, the weigh loop and the air circuit are yours.
What you do
- Lock out the panel at the main isolator Q1: switch OFF, apply your lock and your tag.
- Prove it dead with the meter, live-dead-live.
- Wire the 33 conductors of the wiring schedule. The PLC output supply 3L+ comes through the E-STOP and the gate contacts in series (W17 to W19), so both cut every output. The inputs see the same chain on I0.2 through the signal contacts. W31 to W33 are the weigh loop.
- Hose the air circuit, P01 to P05, with the flow controls fitted meter-out.
- Read the supplied PLC program. It scales the counts to tenths of a kilogram, stops the belt when a carton is on the pad, weighs it after 1.5 s, and either pushes it or latches a fault.
- Restore power: tick the checklist, remove your tag and lock, switch Q1 ON, put the PLC in RUN.
- Test the cell: the belt, a good carton, an under-weight carton, the E-STOP and the gate, an overload trip. Then run the FAT.
What the test checks
The factory acceptance test is marked against the panel you built. The level sets out:
- 38 conductors in the wiring schedule
- 6 dead checks before you touch the panel
In this lab
- Lock out and prove dead, live-dead-live
- Wire the backplate from the schematic
- Meter, tester, clamp and insulation tester
Levels in the Panel Lab
Previous: Commission the pneumatic pusher station
- Commission the transfer-pump starter
- Fault-find the outfeed conveyor starter
- Commission the star-delta fan starter
- Commission the reversing conveyor starter
- Commission the overhead tank pump (Hand/Off/Auto)
- Commission the sorting station sensors
- Commission the variable-speed infeed conveyor drive
- Commission the 4-20 mA level loop
- Commission the pneumatic pusher station
- Commission the packing cell (capstone)
Part of the Panel Lab
Lock out, wire, test and fault-find a control panel, then prove it with a factory acceptance test.
Feeds these internships: Control Panel Design and Wiring, Commissioning and Maintenance, Instrumentation and Process Control.