It began in early 2010 with the implementation of TwinCAT from Beckhoff Automation. "Incorporating PC-based control hardware and software permitted a more flexible way to upgrade our machines without clashing with the existing machine controls as we migrated over," says Fabri-Kal Electrical Engineer Dale Michaels.
Today, TwinCAT software monitors production on all trim press machine lines in all three plants owned by the company, including: temperature and pressure monitoring, heating and melting the plastic to precise temperatures, and preparing it for molding. All end-of-production-line trim presses throughout all Fabri-Kal facilities are actively monitored by Beckhoff PC-based controls, tracking the status of the machines and production data when finished product is coming off the line. "I needed a dynamic control system that also enabled flexible connectivity to the wide range of equipment we have in our plants. With TwinCAT software, Fabri-Kal achieved that while efficiently storing large amounts of information in an SQL database," says Michaels.
In terms of hardware, the upgraded machine lines are equipped with compact CX2030 and CX1020 Embedded PCs. Both controllers are fanless and use solid state memory. The CX2030 features a 1.5 GHz Intel® Core™ i7 dual-core CPU for high performance from a DIN rail-mounted controller. The CX2030 and CX1020 Embedded PCs also play a large role in providing temperature monitoring and control during the mold forming process. In addition to serving as the automation and motion controller, the Embedded PCs are directly connected to EtherCAT Terminals, which constitute the I/O system. With microsecond-level communication performance, the industrial Ethernet system EtherCAT® enables Fabri-Kal to further enhance machine performance in terms of automation, I/O, and motion control. For the motion system, an increasing number of Fabri-Kal lines feature AX5000 series EtherCAT servo drives that not only add speed and high precision, but feature built-in filtering that helps prevent electrical noise from affecting the system. The I/O stations and drives along the lines are connected via EK1100 EtherCAT Couplers to distribute the I/O across Fabri-Kal machines, providing real-time data processing and diagnostics throughout the operation. This can directly help reduce raw materials usage and promote higher end product quality.
At Fabri-Kal, temperature is obviously an important factor for the thermoforming production of high-quality plastic products. Since the integration of the Embedded PCs and EtherCAT thermocouple I/O modules, their upgraded systems are able to react in real-time to adjust temperature levels accordingly, ensuring optimum temperatures for robust, high-quality product output. With real-time digital and analog data acquisition, Fabri-Kal can efficiently and effectively manage all system and process data gathered by the thermoforming machines.
To assemble comprehensive energy consumption data, the most significant factor in determining whether a facility is energy-efficient or not, Fabri-Kal uses Beckhoff EL3403 EtherCAT power measurement terminals. These terminals monitor the power transformers at Fabri-Kal plants and track electrical consumption hourly. "In the future I would like to install even more EL3403 terminals on other parts of the machines that consume power," says Michaels. Since integrating TwinCAT, EtherCAT, and Embedded PC technology to their machine lines, Fabri-Kal can more effortlessly monitor and maintain machine line performance and data processing to forward their goals of keeping their green facilities in peak, energy-saving order.
With the increase in performance from PC-based control and EtherCAT, plus the additional monitoring and measurement capabilities available to Fabri-Kal today, the company proves that increased throughput of higher quality plastic packaging and environmental responsibility can go hand-in-hand. "Since integrating Beckhoff technology into our thermoforming machine lines, we have also improved remote networking and diagnostic capabilities such as providing real-time production and machine data to management and production personnel," explained Michaels. "Many technology companies are adopting initiatives that promote more connected enterprises such as the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. I feel that Fabri-Kal has made great strides to incorporate these big ideas, not just to latch onto a buzzword, but to generate meaningful results today that positively affect our bottom line."
Fabri-Kal has also "gone paperless" and eliminated the tedious manual labor associated with documentation and data entry. Instead, the company's highly automated systems track production output, yield, system downtime and system uptime. "With the comprehensive upgrades and addition of the Beckhoff solution, we are now able to much more precisely monitor machine and production parameters over EtherCAT. This in turn enables us to proactively make necessary adjustments long before there's any threat of costly machine failure and downtime," says Michaels.
On the automation and controls side, Fabri-Kal continues to integrate PC-based control technology into all of their packaging machine lines at all locations, enhancing overall data collection, programming, machine performance, and product quality. "Not content to rest after a major success, Fabri-Kal continues to make improvements in our thermoforming machine lines. Due to the open architecture and flexibility of Beckhoff PC-based control and EtherCAT, I can easily replicate all the new control system upgrades and enhancements onto other machines, making these future goals more easily achievable," says Michaels. This is even possible with different Beckhoff controller types. "With an easy migration path to higher performance using the standard PC-based architecture, Fabri-Kal can intensify our focus on providing best-in-class plastic packaging products for our customers who are undeniable leaders in food manufacturing industry," says Michaels.
