/// Products · Software & automation

Bioprocess automation

The control side of our bioreactors, from a single benchtop module to an industrial plant: software, control modules, revamping of existing systems and custom automation.

IP66 / NEMA 4X

Protection rating

CE · UL 508A · CSA

System certifications

400 V AC

Three-phase, 50/60 Hz

65 kA

SCCR at 480 V AC

OPC UA

Communication architecture

PL e · SIL 3

Maximum safety level

/// Automation panel

Automation and control panel for industrial bioreactor

The electrical automation control panel, engineered with a satin-finish AISI 304 stainless steel enclosure, is designed for the management and regulation of an industrial bioreactor. The entire system complies with international standards, carrying CE, UL and CSA certifications for deployment in European and North American markets.

The architecture is based on the open, secure and standardised OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture), with a clear separation of operational tasks.

Logical control, safety and actuation (PLC)

Siemens or Allen-Bradley PLC platforms govern real-time safety interlocks, the physical process loops (temperature and pressure) and valve actuation. Process valves are driven by an SMC pneumatic manifold island connected over IP Ethernet.

Analytical acquisition and integration (Vinci Biotechnologies & Bioflex™)

Cultivation parameters — pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and biomass — are acquired by the dedicated Kbiotech electronic board, which talks to the local PLC natively over OPC UA and passes on the data the real-time control logic needs, for instance corrective dosing.

/// Technical datasheet

Specifications

General and mechanical specifications

Enclosure material: Stainless steel AISI 304 (EN 1.4301) with a fine satin finish (Scotch-Brite), suited to pharmaceutical and food-grade cleanrooms.
Protection rating: IP66 / NEMA 4X: complete protection against dust ingress, high-pressure water jets and corrosive agents.
Accessibility: Front door with concealed hinges, double-bit lock inserts and a heavy-duty mechanical main door interlock handle.
System certifications: CE marked (Machinery, Low Voltage and EMC Directives) · UL 508A listed (industrial control panels, USA) · CSA C22.2 No. 14 certified (Canada).
Internal segregation: Physical separation to UL 508A guidelines: insulating barriers divide the power circuits from the control and signal circuits (PELV/SELV).
EMC shielding: The Kbiotech board and the cultivation sensor terminal blocks sit in a separate shielded metallic sub-compartment, to eliminate the electromagnetic interference of the power drives, for instance the agitation motor inverters.
Pneumatic segregation: The SMC pneumatic island is isolated in a lower compartment with condensation drains: any micro-leak of compressed air or moisture cannot reach the critical electronic components.

Power supply and distribution

Main line input voltage: 400 V AC ±10%, 3-phase + neutral + earth, 50/60 Hz.
Alternative line configuration: Dual-voltage hardware support for 110 V AC (60 Hz, US grids) or 220 V AC single-phase.
Rated power: Scalable with the bioreactor volume and the thermal load: agitation motors, vessel jacket heating and cooling.
Auxiliary power supply: Stabilised 24 V DC from UL-approved Class 2 redundant power supplies, for the continuous uptime of the PLCs, the SMC island and the Kbiotech system.
Short-circuit current rating (SCCR): 65 kA SCCR at 480 V AC as standard, or customised to the facility requirements, without upstream isolation transformers.
UL 508A compliance method: The overall panel SCCR is calculated and verified in accordance with UL 508A Supplement SB.
Component coordination: All line components — main disconnect switch, Class CC or J current-limiting fuses, safety contactors and motor starters — are coordinated with high interrupting capacities. Downstream components (24 V DC power supplies, inverters) are protected by properly sized Overcurrent Protective Devices (OCPD), so that a single lower-rated component cannot declassify the whole panel, for instance down to 5 kA.

Control architecture (Siemens / Allen-Bradley PLC)

Hardware platform: Siemens S7-1500 / ET 200SP or Allen-Bradley CompactLogix / ControlLogix.
Core responsibilities: Execution of the thermal and pressure PID loops, interlocking logic, automated CIP/SIP sequences and high-time-resolution process valve routing.
Internal panel network: Managed industrial Ethernet switch, optimised for field network traffic segmentation (PROFINET or EtherNet/IP).

SMC pneumatic island (IP Ethernet controlled)

Model / series: High-efficiency SMC SY Series valve manifold, or equivalent, with an integrated fieldbus communication node.
Communication interface: EtherNet/IP or PROFINET (IP Ethernet), connected directly to the master PLC.
Functionality: Pneumatic pilot operation of the bioreactor process valves: gas lines, inoculation, sampling, nutrient feeds and the vessel bottom harvest valve. Supports field diagnostics — coil status, short circuits, cycle counting.

Analytical acquisition and network (Vinci Biotechnologies & Bioflex™)

Acquisition hardware: Kbiotech electronic board with integrated National Instruments cRIO SOM technology, housed in an internal section shielded against electromagnetic interference.
pH: Combined electrode interface with automatic temperature compensation (ATC).
Dissolved oxygen (DO): Dedicated channels for optical (luminescence) or amperometric sensors.
Biomass: Integration for optical density (OD) or capacitance-based viable cell density sensors.
Auxiliary channels: Provisioning for redox potential (ORP), pCO₂ or conductivity.
Local PLC interface (OPC UA): Encrypted real-time client/server communication: the PLC reads the cultivation parameters to drive the dosing pumps — acid, base, antifoam, nutrients — and pushes calibration commands down to the Kbiotech board.
Multi-PLC network broadcasting: The embedded OPC UA server accepts several simultaneous clients: cultivation data can be mirrored in real time to third-party PLCs — utility management, plant SCADA, tank controllers — with no intermediate hardware.
External network interface: A dedicated network uplink carries the data to the corporate network, for native interaction with Bioflex™: remote monitoring, automated feed strategies and secure batch data recording.

Direct PLC sensor inputs (safety and physical process)

Temperature: RTD sensors (PT100/PT1000) wired directly to the PLC thermal modules, for process control and safety limits.
Pressure: Sanitary 4–20 mA, or HART, transmitters read directly by the PLC for backpressure regulation and overpressure alarms.

Safety system (stop and restart)

Safety integrity level: Engineered to the CE directives and UL standards up to PL d / PL e (ISO 13849-1) or SIL 2 / SIL 3 (IEC 61508).
Emergency stop: Hardwired dual-channel redundant safety circuit, via safety relays or a safety PLC, triggered by the emergency mushroom pushbuttons. It drops power to motors, heating elements and dosing pumps and cuts the output power to the SMC pneumatic manifold.
Safe restart: Re-arming requires a clear safety state and manual intervention on the blue illuminated reset pushbutton on the front panel. The PLCs and Bioflex™ record the transition and lock the current recipe phase, preventing unwanted motor restarts or accidental valve openings.

/// The rest of the platform

Bioflex™ software

SCADA platform for bioprocess control: it monitors up to 12 bioreactors together, with recipes, audit trail and electronic signatures compliant with FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

Discover Bioflex™ →

Biobook I/O modules

Each module can work on its own or as part of a fully integrated bioreactor platform, for different laboratory configurations, processes and applications.

See the I/O modules →