Copper tube & metal processing
Copper tube (ACR and plumbing) and copper rod and wire: melting and casting, rolling, drawing, annealing and in-line testing; heavy motor loads, cooling water and protective gas.
How FacilityOS helps
- Shaft furnaces, continuous casters, rolling and drawing lines and annealing furnaces monitored next to the utilities they depend on.
- Cooling water, compressed air and dust collection as plant utilities.
- Energy by line for cost per ton.
Platform modules used
Facility management and control
The whole cooling and power chain at a glance, with redundancy, shift handover, utility efficiency and first-out alarm analysis.
Learn more →EMSEnergy management system
Electricity, gas, water and steam metering by workshop and system, time-of-use cost, demand, carbon, PUE and tamper-evident report archives.
Learn more →PLC / DCSProcess control
PID loop faceplates, ISA-88 batch records, controller redundancy, EtherNet/IP and Siemens S7, and a soft-PLC IDE with simulation.
Learn more →SCADASupervisory control and data acquisition
Editable HMI graphics, live values and trends, bulk history export to CSV and Parquet, event replay, and northbound OPC UA and MQTT Sparkplug B.
Learn more →CMMSMaintenance management
Asset register linked to live data, preventive maintenance by calendar, run hours or starts, signed work orders, QR/NFC inspection rounds, spares and MTBF/MTTR.
Learn more →Segments
Copper tube
Shaft melting, horizontal casting, planetary rolling, drawing, bright annealing and eddy-current testing.
Learn more →Copper rod / wire
Melting and casting, continuous rolling, drawing and annealing.
Learn more →Systems and equipment
Core: every site of this kind has it. Common: most sites have it. Optional: depends on the site.
Melting, casting, rolling, drawing, annealing
If melting or casting stops, the copper freezes and the line is down for clean-up.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper shaft furnace | Core | Melt temp · Gas flow · Melt rate · Melt oxygen · Holding furnace temp | |
| Horizontal continuous caster | Core | Casting speed · Mold water outlet temp · Mold cooling water · Breakout | Mold cooling water is the caster's lifeline: low-flow alarm and a standby pump. |
| Planetary rolling millCopper tube | Core | Roll speed · Main motor power · Cooling water · Exit tube temp | |
| Drawing machine | Core | Drawing speed · Main motor current · Lubricant temp · Breaks today | |
| Bright annealing furnace | Core | Heating zone temp · Protective gas flow · Furnace oxygen · Gas dew point | NFPA 86: atmosphere furnaces need purge and flammable-gas interlocks. |
| Eddy-current testerCopper tube | Common | Line speed · Defects marked today | |
| Line controller (OEE) | Common | OEE · Output (parts/h) · Energy per part | |
| Overhead crane / hoist | Common | Hook load · Overload | |
| Stamping press | Common | Tonnage · Die protection tripped | |
| Extruder | Common | Melt pressure | |
| Heat-treat furnace | Common | Furnace temp · Temperature deviation | |
| Induction furnace | Optional | Power · Ground leak (lining) · Cooling flow | |
| Weighbridge / scale | Optional | Current weight · Load cell fault |
Cooling water
Caster, mill and annealing furnace all depend on cooling water.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling tower cell | Core | Tower leaving water · Tower entering water · Fan speed · Basin level · Water conductivity · Fan vibration | |
| Pump | Core | Running · Speed · Differential pressure | Chilled and condenser water pumps; drives usually on Modbus TCP. |
| Process chiller | Common | Process water supply temp · Process water return temp · Load · Power draw | |
| Domestic water booster | Optional | Discharge pressure · Flow |
Compressed air & protective gas
Oxygen in the annealing gas (nitrogen-hydrogen) sets surface quality.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air compressor | Core | Discharge pressure · Load · Power draw · Fault | |
| Refrigerated air dryer | Common | Pressure dew point · Pressure drop | |
| Compressed-air header | Common | Header pressure · Air demand · Receiver pressure | |
| Bulk gas supply | Core | Tank level · Supply pressure · Vaporizer outlet temp · Flow · Impurity · Reserve supply in use | N2, O2, Ar, H2, CO2; tank telemetry is usually the gas supplier's. |
| On-site nitrogen generator | Optional | Product O2 content · Output · Outlet pressure · Off-purity (on LIN backup) | |
| Dust collector | Common | Filter pressure drop · Spark detected | |
| Vibration / condition sensor | Common | Velocity RMS |
Power & sub-metering
Mills and drawing machines are big pulsing loads: watch demand and power quality.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium-voltage switchgear | Core | Bus voltage · Incoming current · Real power · Breaker closed · Protective trip · Relay trouble | Monitor only — never operate breakers. |
| Power transformer | Core | Top-oil temp · Winding temp · Load · Gas / sudden-pressure alarm · Over-temperature alarm | |
| Low-voltage switchgear | Core | Bus voltage · Load current · Real power · Power factor · Current THD · Breaker trip | |
| Motor control center | Common | MCC load · Current · Power factor · Current THD | |
| Area energy meter | Core | Area power · Energy today · 15-min demand · Power factor | Sub-metering by workshop or system for energy analysis and cost allocation. |
| Site utility meter | Core | Site power · Site power (MW) · Energy today · Power factor | |
| Power quality meter | Common | Voltage THD · Current THD · Voltage sags today · Sag / interruption event | Voltage sags are a common hidden cause of trips. |
| Natural gas meter | Common | Natural gas flow · Heat input (1,037 BTU/scf) · Gas today (scf) | Natural gas in scfh, converted to BTU/h by heating value. |
| UPS | Common | Load · Battery runtime · On bypass | SNMP v3 (UPS-MIB). |
| -48 V DC power plant | Common | DC bus voltage · AC input lost | |
| Busway / cable temperature (DTS) | Optional | Hottest point | |
| Active harmonic filter (APF) | Common | After current THD · Unit load · Modules in fault · Fan fault | |
| Passive (tuned) harmonic filter | Common | After current THD · Capacitor current, measured / rated · Resonance alarm | |
| Hybrid harmonic filter | Optional | After current THD · Unit load · Resonance alarm | |
| Static var generator (SVG / STATCOM) | Common | PF after · Unit load · Modules in fault | |
| Static var compensator (SVC) | Optional | Reactive output · Valve over-temperature | |
| Automatic capacitor bank | Common | Power factor · Capacitor current, measured / rated · Resonance alarm · Switching operations today | |
| Fixed capacitor bank | Optional | Reactive output · Fuse blown · Capacitor current, measured / rated | |
| Step voltage regulator | Optional | Tap position · At tap limit | |
| Phase-shifting (harmonic-mitigating) transformer | Optional | Winding temp · Primary current THD | |
| Line / DC-link reactor | Optional | Reactor temp | |
| Sine-wave filter | Optional | Output voltage THD · Filter temp | |
| 12 / 18-pulse front end | Optional | Input current THD · Bridge current unbalance | |
| Active front end (AFE) drive | Optional | Input current THD | |
| Transformer DGA monitor | Common | Hydrogen · Acetylene | |
| Bushing monitor | Optional | Power factor (tan δ) · Capacitance change | |
| Winding temperature monitor | Common | Winding hot spot | |
| On-load tap changer control (OLTC) | Optional | Tap position · Tap fault · Operations today | |
| Arc-flash protection relay | Common | Arc trip · Protection not ready | |
| Neutral grounding resistor monitor | Optional | NGR resistance · Resistor open · Ground fault |
Life safety Monitor only
Gas, protective atmospheres and molten copper.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire alarm panel | Core | Fire alarm · Supervisory signal · Trouble signal | Monitor only (NFPA 72). |
| Fire pump | Common | Running · System pressure · Power phase failure | |
| Sprinkler riser | Common | Riser pressure · Waterflow alarm · Valve tamper | |
| Combustible gas detector | Core | Combustible gas (LEL) · Gas alarm | Gas trains and hydrogen atmosphere areas. |
| Oxygen deficiency monitor | Common | Oxygen · Alarm 1 (O2 below 19.5 %) · Alarm 2 (O2 below 18 %) | Nitrogen and inert-gas areas: 19.5 % and 18 % stages. |
Security & video Monitor only
Camera and door status, and video linkage: cameras are linked to areas, devices and alarm rules; on an alarm the gateway takes an ONVIF snapshot and attaches it to the alarm, with a live-view link to the NVR/VMS. Core never contacts a camera.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video camera | Common | Online · Recording · Motion detected · Video analytics alarm · Tamper (blocked or moved) | Status via the VMS (Milestone, Genetec…); on an alarm the gateway takes an ONVIF snapshot and attaches it to the alarm — Core never contacts a camera. |
| Access-controlled door | Common | Door open · Door held open · Door forced | Door events can drive camera linkage. |
Life-safety equipment (fire alarm, gas detection, emergency power transfer) and protection devices are monitored only. FacilityOS never sends them commands.
Standards and compliance
| Standards and compliance | Notes |
|---|---|
| ASTM B88 | Seamless copper water tube. |
| ASTM B280 | Seamless copper tube for air conditioning and refrigeration field service. |
| NFPA 86 | Standard for ovens and furnaces (purge and interlocks of atmosphere furnaces). |
| ISO 50001 | Energy management systems. |
| OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 | Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout). |
| IEC 62443 | Industrial automation and control system security. |
Standards are listed with what they cover; numeric values are typical figures, not requirements for every site. FacilityOS supports your compliance work; it does not certify a site.
KPIs the platform tracks
| KPIs the platform tracks | Notes |
|---|---|
| Energy per ton | (Electricity + gas) ÷ good output. |
| Yield | Good product ÷ cathode input. |
| Break rate | Drawing breaks per output. |
| Peak demand | 15-minute demand peak. |
Reports
| Reports | Notes |
|---|---|
| Melting & casting report | Temperatures, oxygen, casting speed and cooling water. |
| Energy & demand report | Energy by process step and demand peaks. |
How we deliver
We can take a Copper tube & metal processing project from survey and design through procurement, installation, commissioning and training — all of it, or only the stages you need.