The Control of a hatcher, specifically for Turkeys requires a specific and accurate control of temperatures and humidity over a 28 day cycle.

A PLC system was developed based upon a Schneider TSX Micro PLC system to control and monitor the temperature and humidity needs, as well as operating fans, dampers and solenoid valves required to maintain correct airflow into the machine.

Closed loop control was employed on the heaters, coolers, and damper controls to maintain temperatures to within the required 0.1 degrees Farenheight. To guarantee accuracy of temperatures, redundant temperature probes were used to monitor and alarm any possible deviation in the controlling probes.

The system also required the development of a CitectSCADA™ application. This system was networked to the Hatchers and provided monitoring of critical process parameteers and provided the control of the the parameters over the 28 day cycle. Alarms were annunciated via local text displays mounted on the hatcher and at the CitectSCADA™ System, where they were also logged for future reference.