Systems · For equipment builders
Process control for OEM skids and process equipment
Your customers want skids that run recipes, keep batch records and plug cleanly into their plant control system. We help process-equipment builders put the right ABB control platform on board and support it wherever the equipment ships.
Who this is for
Builders of pasteurizers, blending and batching systems, CIP skids, cookers and blanchers, cheese and dairy equipment, fermentation systems, dryers, and other modular process equipment for food, beverage and life-science plants.
Choosing the control platform for a skid
Not every skid needs a DCS. The decision depends on what the skid does and how it must behave inside the customer's plant:
| Skid profile | Typical fit |
|---|---|
| Fixed sequence, one operator panel, few recipes | ABB AC500 PLC with a local HMI |
| Multiple recipes, batch reports, regulated records | AC500 with batch logic and reporting, or a compact Freelance controller |
| Skid that becomes a process unit of a larger plant system | Freelance, engineered to integrate with the plant DCS |
We'll help you choose a standard you can repeat across your product line. A repeatable design costs less to build, document and support than a custom design for every order.
What we provide
- Standardized control designs for your equipment family: control panels, I/O lists, software templates and documentation you can reuse order after order.
- ISA-88-structured software, so the skid presents itself to a plant batch system as a clean unit with clear phases. Why that matters →
- Hygienic panel design for skids that live in washdown areas. Hygienic design basics →
- Integration interfaces selected for the specified controller and plant architecture, with protocol roles, supported data, required licenses and any gateways documented for the end user's integrator.
- Component supply of the ABB controllers, drives and electrical components on your bill of materials, with Gross Automation as a single point of contact.
Building a skid for a Freelance plant? We can assess the appropriate controller and interface architecture, then document the commands, status, alarms and records exchanged with the plant system.