Development of a Programmable Logic Control-Based Automatic Car Washing System

Abstract

This project involves the design and construction of a Programmable Logic Control (PLC) based automatic car washing system with the aim of reducing water wastage by incorporating a recycling system. The traditional means of washing vehicles was time consuming, involved lots of manual power and led to water pollution of the environment. This system is designed using aluminum metal to fabricate the framework. The system is implemented using three means, namely: Mechanical, Electrical and Programming devices. The machine was designed to use an induction electric motor to move the car on the conveyor belt from one workstation to the next incorporating the use of a VFD to reduce motor speed, and incorporating the use of a PLC to control the logical operations of the system with the use of sensors and actuators. Also, the system made use of a filter net to separate dirt from used water in order to allow recycling of the system by pumping it back into the system. After testing the automatic car washing system, it performed the car washing process efficiently from one work station to another, and reduced water wastage by recycling the water.