Award-winning automation system

DIMA was developed in response to a call from NAMUR, the User Association of Automation Technology in Process Industries, for a new methodology for automating modular processing systems. The food processing industry is being increasingly required to react quickly to changing market conditions, and produce smaller product runs more quickly, efficiently and economically.

Receiving the award, Derek Lane, automation manager at WAGO, said: “We’re very pleased to have been recognised with this award. Until now, there was no complete non-proprietary solution on the market for automated integration of individual modules into a complete application. As a result the automation system of a modular application would have to be laboriously programmed by hand, taking up valuable time and increasing the risk of errors. With DIMA, WAGO has proved for the first time how easily modular systems can be automated on a modular basis without extensive effort”.

DIMA allows manufacturers to quickly and flexibly adapt their production processes, and by eliminating the need to carefully plan and programme the automation system manually, engineering time can be significantly shortened, leading to greater productivity, efficiency and profitability.

Food Processing Magazine, the event organiser, commented: “The judges felt that WAGO’s DIMA offers a great solution for the decentralised automation of process systems by equipping the modules with their own intelligence – a vital requirement if the industry is to become more agile as we move towards Industry 4.0 goals”.