xCoupler Applications

xCoupler Module Keeps the Taste of Premium Bourbon Smooth In the decades gone by, the corn, rye and barley used to make the mash for bourbon was carefully mixed by hand by experienced distillers to ensure consistency of the recipe barrel after barrel, decade after decade. But with today’s high production distillery processes, mixing by hand isn’t an option any more, but the consistency of taste is still critical to the success of each brand.

To help manage the consistency of the ingredients for their premium bourbon, management at a major distillery instituted a quality control process that would monitor recipe, cooking, fermenting, distilling and aging processes. The system includes exchanging data between the company’s Microsoft database and processes linked to Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PACs on the plant floor.

After investigating several PC-based methods to exchange data between the database and the PACs, an xCoupler module was chosen. The xCoupler module simply snaps into the rack of the ControlLogix PAC to gather data from devices from the backplane, and connects to the database via Ethernet. The module doesn’t require expensive programming, nor does it need to be upgraded when other software or devices in the system are upgraded. These modules are not PC-based, so that lowers the chance of viruses or hackers affecting the entire system.

Both plant personnel and IT like the xCoupler’s data security features. The audit log in the module continuously records all parameters and cannot be altered. Should the database go down or a connection to it fail, the module continuously stores the data in its flash drive. It also sends an email alert that data transfer has stopped and forwards the data once the connection is resumed. The module’s WorkBench utility features several levels of security to prevent unintended operation.

xCoupler modules, helping to keep the taste of your favorite bourbon smooth.