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Paint pouch packing is under control

Testor packages modelers' paints in a flexible pouch on a hf/f/s machine modified for the purpose. A PLS, a PLC and a complementary logic module contribute greatly.

L ogic instructions can be easily entered on the keypad and LCD display of the universal logic module. To the left and below is
L ogic instructions can be easily entered on the keypad and LCD display of the universal logic module. To the left and below is

Marketers at Testor Corp. saw enormous potential in switching from a glass jar to a flexible pouch for 2/3-oz quantities of modelers' paints (see p. 36). So the Rockford, IL, company installed and modified a horizontal form/fill/seal machine to execute the package conversion. Some of the most important modifications, as it turned out, were in the control cabinet beside the machine itself.

When the machine arrived at Testor, it had no programmable logic controller. Instead, it was controlled by a programmable limit switch, the PLµS from Electro Cam (Roscoe, IL). An encoder on the main drive shaft constantly updated the PLS as to the shaft's position. Based on that position, the PLS sent output signals to actuators or solenoids that triggered film advance, film cutoff, heat sealing or other actions required to form, fill and seal a pouch.

Testor's ambitious plans for the machine didn't render the PLS obsolete. But as new product development manager Adam Morrison puts it, the machine needed additional functionality because a whole new range of actions were being added, including such things as placement of the dispensing fitment, fitment sealing, film notching, and dispensing-fitment closing.

Testor gave the hf/f/s system the functionality it needed by adding an SLC 5/03 programmable logic controller from Allen-Bradley (Milwaukee, WI). It now functions as the machine's main brain. Outputs from the PLS tell the PLC where the main shaft is in its rotation. So the PLC knows precisely when a fitment must be picked and placed, when the pouch material needs to be printed or punched, when the fitment needs to be heat-sealed, and when the fitment needs to be closed. After the PLC has signaled whatever actuators are needed to accomplish these tasks, it sends a signal back to the PLS, which then knows to send an output to advance the film again. So the PLC and the PLS complement each other.

"The PLC adds more inputs and outputs, and that makes the overall machine more flexible," says Testor's Mike Smith, who oversees the pouch machine's operation and maintenance.

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