Dematec undertook the electrical and instrumentation works associated with the installation of a new biogas scrubber system at a Barossa Valley winery. The scrubber system required integration into an existing PLC and SCADA network and featured variable speed control on all blower and pump motors to facilitate precise control functionality.

Dematec supplied and installed new switchboards and hydrostatic probes for a number of existing waste water pump stations across outer southern Adelaide. The new switchboards required connection and integration into the existing telemetry network and inclusion in the existing SCADA system. These installations had to be tightly scheduled and executed as incoming flow had to be pumped out by tanker trucks while the pump stations were off-line.

Dematec supplied and installed 12 new Differential Pressure (DP) cells at the Bolivar DAFF plant to replace the existing filter outlet pressure switches. This included installation and commissioning of new PLC I/O and SCADA points to monitor the pressure drop across the filter beds. The pressure drop is used to control filter backwashing operations, as well as to generate alarms under abnormal conditions.

Dematec provided the process control and automation works for a waste water plant commissioned for a new development in the Barossa Valley. Beyond the usual process control and telemetry systems, the plant featured an automated diversion system for directing excess inflow (typically caused by illegal stormwater dumping to the sewer) into the disused settling pond for exceptional event coverage. This system was battery backed to allow operation even in the event of a power outage thereby eliminating the risk of overflow from the process plant.

The growth and success of the company has been built from the groundwork of long term customer relationships. Founders Denise and Mark Stevens place a high emphasis on the client through maintaining a culture and environment where the best team is engineering the best solution. The development of Dematec’s engagement and delivery methodology was centred around this value. OneTeamMethodology is about sharing responsibility, sharing the ownership of a challenge and trusting each other to embark upon calculated risk when called upon.

“Engineering and business transformation are keys to the survival of modern companies. Manufacturing creates wealth, sustains jobs and remains a central part of the economic activity of Australia. Fuel and material prices are rising and are not going to retreat. We need to constantly strive to make more valuable products, to work safer and smarter and to manage our resources in a sustainable way. The future at Dematec is about the frontier of transformative engineering through robotics, automation, energy and water systems – it is a challenging and stimulating time to be in business. Let Dematec optimise your processes and position your company for growth.”

David Hart, Managing Director, Dematec

Dematec develops automation, robotic and control solutions for a vast array of industries and applications. Our capabilities extend from panel building to the development of intricate, high-tech robotic systems for special applications, and everything in between.

Dematec is a continually evolving company, with a strong people orientation and a focus on providing innovative yet cost effective solutions. This is encapsulated in our slogan, ‘the best people; engineering the best solution’.

The Dematec organisation continually strives to be known and respected as a group that delivers project solutions in a practical, flexible and timely manner. The growth and success of our company is based on our ongoing focus in building long term relationships with our customers; serving their needs, and working in partnership in an effort to produce cost effective outcomes.

Specialised services

• Industrial automation and process control
• Project management and consulting
• Factory systems and process audits
• Water treatment automation and process control
• Scheduled and breakdown maintenance programs
• Maintenance audits and solution development
• Robotic systems
• Factory networking and production monitoring
• Electrical and power consultancy
• Research and development (R&D) for automation of manual processes

Particular industries of expertise

• Manufacturing and automotive
• Water and infrastructure
• Food & beverage production
• Agricultural processing
• R&D
• Defence
• Power and clean technology energy

Our customer presented Dematec with an application to automate the selection and pre-processing of vegetables. Previously, this had been a manual labour-intensive process that could not be cost-effectively automated due to the variation in the product.

The Robotic Vegetable Selection Cell uses a combination of three industrial vision sensors (DVT / Cognex) coupled with three high speed picking robots (ABB) to provide the flexible and “intelligent” operation for the identification, pickup, and pre-processing of the vegetables.

The Robotic Vegetable Selection Cell was also designed to be transportable and self-contained (on-board air and hydraulics), requiring only a three phase electrical supply, so that it may be moved from processing shed to processing shed as demand requires.

Our customer approached Dematec with an application to automate the existing manual process of loading empty buckets to an existing paint filling line. The budget available for the project was limited and the initial concept was to use a custom three axis pick and place mechanism for the task.

Fortunately, Dematec was aware of a robotic production cell that had been recently decommissioned by another customer that contained many of the elements required for this application. Dematec negotiated the purchase of the secondhand cell and redeployed the 250kg capacity ABB robot and existing electrical control panel to the paint filling project.

The flexibility of the robot over that of the three axis pick and place mechanism was such that the scope of the project was subsequently changed (with minimal price increase) to include loading of buckets to two fill lines rather than one, accommodated by the reach and speed of the robot. This provided significant added value to the customer over the original project concept.

Dematec was recommended to our customer to provide engineering services for the determination and design of the power reticulation for their greenfield manufacturing facility. This involved an audit of the proposed site layout, production equipment requirements, and ancillary loads, followed by development of single line diagrams and discrimination for the main switchboards and local distribution boards.

Dematec then managed the installation of power feeds and connections by local contractors on site, and handled liaison with ETSA with regards to transformer sizing and placement to allow changeover from generators to mains supply in the quickest possible timeframe.

In conjunction with our customer and mechanical partner, Dematec designed and installed the control system for an automated roll-forming line. The production line produces cut to length sheet metal product that may be embossed, wood-grain finished, or width adjusted according to configurable ‘recipes’ stored by the control system and accessed via a touchscreen.

The product can be produced as ‘single skin’ (sheet metal only) or as a ‘foam-filled’ product (double layer sheet metal filled with expanding foam). This is achieved through the use of a global control system with touchscreen interface using closed loop control principles on hydraulic and servo motor driven mechanics, including a laminator and flying shear. The production line has also been configured for remote access via the web, useful for on-going support as this production line has been exported overseas.

Our customer commissioned Dematec to undertake an audit of the existing equipment at their bakery and make recommendations with regard to improved productivity, reduced equipment downtime, and reduced waste.

One of the recommendations made was to upgrade the control systems of several existing stand-alone pieces of equipment and integrate the equipment into a new central control system with improved operator feedback, diagnostics, and controls.

Approval was given for this project to be undertaken during a week-long shutdown, and Dematec staff worked two shifts to complete the work within the allotted downtime. The control system upgrade coupled with some other adjustments made on the production line during the shutdown has seen wastage fall from 18% to 0.5% in the space of three months.