Monday, November 06, 2006
Drive refit gives packaging machines new life
SIG Combibloc, a Tyne and Wear-based carton manufacturer, has used Siemens drives, motors and control gear to advantageous effect on one of its key Flamesealer machines.
Rather than buying new, many companies elect to refit machines when they become fatigued, unreliable or outmoded, saving money and, in many instances, gaining a machine with a superior specification. This was the preferred route for SIG Combibloc, a Tyne and Wear-based carton manufacturer, which used Siemens drives, motors and control gear to advantageous effect on one of its key Flamesealer machines. 'The machine was fitted with old American DC drives from the 1970s', explains SIG's Head of Electrical Services, John Duffell.
'We went through a period of repair but maintenance support for the machine in the area started to dwindle'.
'We knew we had to address the problem head on'.
The Flamesealer machine is at the heart of SIG's operation.
It takes a flat, blank substrate and folds it into a sleeve before applying a 'burn' process to its plastic coating to seal the carton.
Among the famous carton brands processed by SIG are Ambrosia, Birds and Cadbury.
Local automation specialist Appcon was asked to tender for the contract.
Appcon's Sales Manager Jason Johnson takes up the story: 'The machine wasn't reliable and failed to provide repeatability'.
'There was a lot of slack in the mechanics that were compounded by control problems so using our experience of high speed manufacturing applications, we designed a solution based on Siemens equipment'.
'SIG were astounded when they saw our proposal'.
'Not only was it more competitive than their other quotes, it offered extra functionality and was an all-round better technical solution'.
Appcon won the contract and configured the new control structure and drive system using three Siemens Micromaster 440 series drives (two rated at 15kW, one at 22kW) complete with additional encoder input cards.
The drives are connected to a Siemens S7-300 PLC via Profibus while production line characteristics are modified via a Siemens TP170B HMI.
The machine speed relating to the centre section of the machine is entered in metres per minute using the HMI and the PLC transmits this set point value to the drives.
Each slave drive can be offset from the master by entering a specific value into the HMI and the PLC stores these values so that they track any modifications in the speed of the centre section.
This allows line speed characteristics to be set rapidly during job changeover thanks to a memory facility that permits speed characteristics to be recalled when a job is repeated.
The use of the S7 PLC in conjunction with the drives allows the slave motors to run with a true offset rather than via a geared relationship, making it possible to maintain a constant gap between blanks for any desired line speed.
In addition, the PLC monitors the system, providing status of the emergency stop circuit, while the HMI offers a diagnostic display, showing the status of each drive including voltage levels, overload status and fault alarms.
All I/O can also be viewed from the HMI to assist in faultfinding.
'At Appcon we have made a conscious decision to align ourselves to Siemens', explains Johnson.
'Their equipment offers high quality and reliability'.
'Given a free choice we would use Siemens every time'.
The new drive system on the SIG Flamesealer has proved superior to the old analogue system.
Consistent speeds are achievable at each section of the line as the load is varied.
It is also notable that the new system introduces far less vibration into the line due to the tuning functions available on the Siemens Micromaster drive in conjunction with the use of encoder feedback.
Duffell says: 'It's so quiet that I often walk past and think - is it on?'.
The entire refit at SIG was completed in two and a half days.
'Appcon were hugely professional', states Duffell.
'Now the operators are screaming out for the remainder of our Flamesealers to be refitted'.
Needless to say, people power has won the day and SIG is using Appcon and Siemens to roll out a programme of refits across its entire range of Flamesealer machines.
Rather than buying new, many companies elect to refit machines when they become fatigued, unreliable or outmoded, saving money and, in many instances, gaining a machine with a superior specification. This was the preferred route for SIG Combibloc, a Tyne and Wear-based carton manufacturer, which used Siemens drives, motors and control gear to advantageous effect on one of its key Flamesealer machines. 'The machine was fitted with old American DC drives from the 1970s', explains SIG's Head of Electrical Services, John Duffell.
'We went through a period of repair but maintenance support for the machine in the area started to dwindle'.
'We knew we had to address the problem head on'.
The Flamesealer machine is at the heart of SIG's operation.
It takes a flat, blank substrate and folds it into a sleeve before applying a 'burn' process to its plastic coating to seal the carton.
Among the famous carton brands processed by SIG are Ambrosia, Birds and Cadbury.
Local automation specialist Appcon was asked to tender for the contract.
Appcon's Sales Manager Jason Johnson takes up the story: 'The machine wasn't reliable and failed to provide repeatability'.
'There was a lot of slack in the mechanics that were compounded by control problems so using our experience of high speed manufacturing applications, we designed a solution based on Siemens equipment'.
'SIG were astounded when they saw our proposal'.
'Not only was it more competitive than their other quotes, it offered extra functionality and was an all-round better technical solution'.
Appcon won the contract and configured the new control structure and drive system using three Siemens Micromaster 440 series drives (two rated at 15kW, one at 22kW) complete with additional encoder input cards.
The drives are connected to a Siemens S7-300 PLC via Profibus while production line characteristics are modified via a Siemens TP170B HMI.
The machine speed relating to the centre section of the machine is entered in metres per minute using the HMI and the PLC transmits this set point value to the drives.
Each slave drive can be offset from the master by entering a specific value into the HMI and the PLC stores these values so that they track any modifications in the speed of the centre section.
This allows line speed characteristics to be set rapidly during job changeover thanks to a memory facility that permits speed characteristics to be recalled when a job is repeated.
The use of the S7 PLC in conjunction with the drives allows the slave motors to run with a true offset rather than via a geared relationship, making it possible to maintain a constant gap between blanks for any desired line speed.
In addition, the PLC monitors the system, providing status of the emergency stop circuit, while the HMI offers a diagnostic display, showing the status of each drive including voltage levels, overload status and fault alarms.
All I/O can also be viewed from the HMI to assist in faultfinding.
'At Appcon we have made a conscious decision to align ourselves to Siemens', explains Johnson.
'Their equipment offers high quality and reliability'.
'Given a free choice we would use Siemens every time'.
The new drive system on the SIG Flamesealer has proved superior to the old analogue system.
Consistent speeds are achievable at each section of the line as the load is varied.
It is also notable that the new system introduces far less vibration into the line due to the tuning functions available on the Siemens Micromaster drive in conjunction with the use of encoder feedback.
Duffell says: 'It's so quiet that I often walk past and think - is it on?'.
The entire refit at SIG was completed in two and a half days.
'Appcon were hugely professional', states Duffell.
'Now the operators are screaming out for the remainder of our Flamesealers to be refitted'.
Needless to say, people power has won the day and SIG is using Appcon and Siemens to roll out a programme of refits across its entire range of Flamesealer machines.
# posted by Medical Information : 2:15 AM
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