The machine had capability. The controls were aging.
The customer was running pressure-sensitive material on a 5,000-FPM duplex rewinder. Its original control system was a proprietary microprocessor-based "black box" using EEPROM chips, alongside a Reliance AutoMax drive-control system.
The job was to modernize the system while carrying its machine-specific operating requirements into the new controls.
I converted the controls and drives.
I replaced the proprietary controller with Allen-Bradley ControlLogix and converted the Reliance AutoMax system to Allen-Bradley PowerFlex DC drives.
The work required understanding what the old system was doing, then carrying the machine's operating requirements into the new controls. The important result was how the rewinder worked in production, not how different the electrical cabinet looked.
The customer chose to do it again.
The first conversion went well enough that the customer had me modernize four more machines using the same overall approach.
Five machines in total, starting with one successful project. The customer had seen the first machine run and decided to keep going.
What this job says about the work
The first successful machine is the best reason to be invited back for the next one.