Baggers are all about productivity, and Rovema Packaging Machines recognized that a change of control platform was needed to raise the bar on speed, precision, sustainability, safety and ease of use.
At PACK EXPO 2010, Rovema introduced the VPR-220 Bagmaker. The high performance vertical form/fill/seal system is enabled by B&R Industrial Automation's latest technology and can run up to 200 bags per minute, with bag lengths ranging from 100mm to 240mm.
Simple machine with big features
Using just a single servo and two AC variable frequency drives, Rovema has implemented a number of new features. The sealing jaw is synchronized with actual film travel instead of a time-based profile for better registration and more consistent bag length. The jaw profile is always active, even during a fault condition, so no bags would be lost during an e-stop and production can resume rapidly after clearing a bag jam.
A new Jaw Jog mode quickly resynchronizes the drive system after jogging. The motion profile has been optimized to achieve higher machine speeds, for example, a dual jaw VPR-220 can run 145 20mm bags per minute. All parameters can be changed on the fly. After an e-stop is triggered, the jaw moves automatically to a safe position before the motor is disabled without a hot jaw touching product in a bag.
Less energy and material equals sustainability
These features also mean sustainability, as material and energy waste is reduced. The B&R controller also features a built-in energy monitor. A self-contained servo drive controls the jaw, while economical AC drives provide sufficient precision to operate the film feed and vertical seal band.
Mainstream technology means high performance, low cost
The foundation for increased performance began by replacing legacy PLC, motion control and HMI with a single, integrated touchscreen panel. All software runs on a single, Pentium class processor. And all software runs in the same program, even the HMI. Adding to the inherent responsiveness of this streamlined solution are a fast, Ethernet based control network and extremely fast I/O system – with 400 µsec update rates compared to millisecond and above for comparable I/O.
Along with a doubling of processing power every 18 months, Moore's Law calls for falling prices. Legacy PLCs typically use low volume industrial processors, which lack the power of mainstream silicon from Intel and AMD, yet are more costly. Rovema saw that the high performance machine could also be the low cost alternative.
Upgraded display and HMI capabilities
As a result, Rovema was able to cost effectively upgrade to a larger 10.4" full color display from a 5.7" screen. Functionally, the new HMI feature multiple languages, recipe and alarm import/export via USB port, multiple security levels and web browser for diagnostics and other apps.
B&R partner Piedmont Automation provided the applications engineering support from their local office and assured that Rovema extracted the full range of capabilities from the new automation platform.
At PACK EXPO 2010, Rovema introduced the VPR-220 Bagmaker. The high performance vertical form/fill/seal system is enabled by B&R Industrial Automation's latest technology and can run up to 200 bags per minute, with bag lengths ranging from 100mm to 240mm.
Simple machine with big features
Using just a single servo and two AC variable frequency drives, Rovema has implemented a number of new features. The sealing jaw is synchronized with actual film travel instead of a time-based profile for better registration and more consistent bag length. The jaw profile is always active, even during a fault condition, so no bags would be lost during an e-stop and production can resume rapidly after clearing a bag jam.
A new Jaw Jog mode quickly resynchronizes the drive system after jogging. The motion profile has been optimized to achieve higher machine speeds, for example, a dual jaw VPR-220 can run 145 20mm bags per minute. All parameters can be changed on the fly. After an e-stop is triggered, the jaw moves automatically to a safe position before the motor is disabled without a hot jaw touching product in a bag.
Less energy and material equals sustainability
These features also mean sustainability, as material and energy waste is reduced. The B&R controller also features a built-in energy monitor. A self-contained servo drive controls the jaw, while economical AC drives provide sufficient precision to operate the film feed and vertical seal band.
Mainstream technology means high performance, low cost
The foundation for increased performance began by replacing legacy PLC, motion control and HMI with a single, integrated touchscreen panel. All software runs on a single, Pentium class processor. And all software runs in the same program, even the HMI. Adding to the inherent responsiveness of this streamlined solution are a fast, Ethernet based control network and extremely fast I/O system – with 400 µsec update rates compared to millisecond and above for comparable I/O.
Along with a doubling of processing power every 18 months, Moore's Law calls for falling prices. Legacy PLCs typically use low volume industrial processors, which lack the power of mainstream silicon from Intel and AMD, yet are more costly. Rovema saw that the high performance machine could also be the low cost alternative.
Upgraded display and HMI capabilities
As a result, Rovema was able to cost effectively upgrade to a larger 10.4" full color display from a 5.7" screen. Functionally, the new HMI feature multiple languages, recipe and alarm import/export via USB port, multiple security levels and web browser for diagnostics and other apps.
B&R partner Piedmont Automation provided the applications engineering support from their local office and assured that Rovema extracted the full range of capabilities from the new automation platform.
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