Case Study: Metso achieves 98% energy savings and accelerated digital-hydraulics controller development with MathWorks Model-Based Design

Metso Develops Controller for Energy-Saving Digital Hydraulic System for Papermaking Equipment Using Model-Based Design

Metso, a maker of industrial papermaking equipment, faced a challenge building controls for its first digital hydraulic calender system that must hold roll position to 0.1 mm and nip pressure to 0.2 bar. Digital hydraulics multiplies control complexity (30–40 valves per cylinder and many cylinders per machine), so Metso needed an efficient way to prototype, test, and produce a real-time controller. To meet this need Metso used MathWorks’ Model-Based Design with MATLAB and Simulink (including Simscape Multibody, Simulink Coder, and Simulink Real-Time).

Using MathWorks tools, Metso and university partners modeled valves and the calender in Simulink/Simscape, ran closed‑loop simulations, generated C code with Simulink Coder, and progressed from dSPACE prototyping to Simulink Real‑Time and a Beckhoff PLC with minimal model changes. The MathWorks-based approach delivered a controller that reduced energy use by 98%, cut floor-space needs, improved reliability versus proportional systems, saved months of development time, eliminated weeks of on‑site tuning, and helped avoid costly production downtime.

Metso

Kari Leminen

General Manager of Automation Technology