Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Whetting Whetstone's appetite for PC controls

A 350 piece/min wrapping machine at Whetstone Candy relies on PC-based controls and a single software program to control logic, motion and HMI functions.

Hank Whetstone pauses at the PC keyboard through which he controls his high-speed candy-wrapping machine.
Hank Whetstone pauses at the PC keyboard through which he controls his high-speed candy-wrapping machine.

On a high-speed candy-wrapping system in St. Augustine, FL, an enhanced software package from Steeplechase Software (Ann Arbor, MI) allows Whetstone Candy to use a single PC platform to control logic, motion and HMI (Human/Machine Interface) functions. For Hank Whetstone, president of the candy maker, Steeplechase’s Visual Logic Controller program simplifies machine control considerably.

“We have one programmable device rather than the three separate ones you might expect to find in an installation like this,” says Whetstone. “Troubleshooting, or dealing with error conditions, is much easier this way. We don’t have to know three different programs, one for logic, another for motion control and a third for HMI. All three are governed by the Steeplechase software.” Controls integrator Motionex (Charlotte, NC) introduced Whetstone to the Steeplechase software.

The 7-g pieces of chocolate being wrapped in unsupported foil on the new equipment are called Seashells. The equipment is a WT3.981.CB2 system from Italian machinery maker Carle & Montanari, U.S.A. (Raleigh, NC). The system consists of four key modules: countermold positioner, robotic pick-and-place row feeder, pocketed infeed conveyor/wrapper and foil feeder.

Chocolate comes from the molding operation in countermolds that hold the Seashells 12 across and four rows deep, or 48 pieces per countermold. The robotic row feeder uses 12 vacuum pick-up cups to pick one row of candy at a time and place it in the pocketed infeed of the wrapper, which delivers the candy in the proper orientation to the wrap station. There, roll-fed foil is wrapped around each piece of candy at a rate of 350 pieces/min.

Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Discover which palletizing technology—robotic, conventional, or hybrid—will maximize your packaging line efficiency while minimizing long-term costs in this comprehensive analysis.
Read More
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Annual Outlook Report: Automation & Robotics
What's in store for CPGs in 2025 and beyond? <i>Packaging World</i> editors explore the survey responses from 118 brand owners, CPG, and FMCG <i>Packaging World</i> readers for its new Annual Outlook Report.
Download
Annual Outlook Report: Automation & Robotics