Imagine reducing changeover time from 30 minutes to 5 minutes, while eliminating human error. Imagine having an extra eye inside your machine to help with troubleshooting or instant manuals and repair videos on your mobile device or touchscreen when you need them most. Edson, a leading manufacturer of high-performance case packing equipment, has made these tools a reality with their new InteleSuite on-machine, intelligent packaging systems—InteleTül, InteleLink, and InteleVüe.
All three InteleSuite systems help customers reduce downtime and costs, maintain, and operate their Edson machines more efficiently and effectively. InteleTül, InteleVüe, and InteleLink are available as standalone systems on Edson case packers or can be installed as a complete, integrated support suite. The InteleSuite systems can also be retrofitted onto existing packaging machines already in the field, regardless of manufacturer brand. Edson’s InteleSuite helps operators prevent problems before they occur and when maintenance or support is needed they provide instant visual access to needed parts and information.
“Customers want more information on their tools, machine cycles, operating recipes and parts management data for preemptive maintenance, better cost management and uptime,” said Jeff Werner, Edson Vice President of Technology. “These tools certainly do that, but they also improve human-machine interaction by reducing errors, providing instant feedback on issues, and providing detailed ‘how-to’ information. The time and efficiency savings are substantial.”
InteleTül
During changeovers, InteleTül verifies the proper part and setup is being used. It also records tool usage, number of cycles and maintenance information. If the wrong part has been installed the machine will not operate. InteleTül was developed by Edson and employs an I/O link-based RFID system provided by Balluff. InteleTül coupled with Edson’s innovative Servo Adjust™ feature, which automatically makes machine adjustments with a single button push, can reduce changeover times from 30 minutes to 5 minutes completely free of errors. InteleTül also works seamlessly with the InteleVüe touchscreen HMI control system.
“InteleTül and servo adjust are quick, reliable and accurate,” said Werner. “Even inexperienced operators can perform changeovers quickly and accurately the first time. Our goal was to make changeovers as easy and error free as possible while capturing data that can be used for overall part and machine management.”
InteleLink
InteleLink, patent pending, uses wireless Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to provide instant product support, including instruction manuals, videos with setup and replacement instructions, part history, reordering capability, contact information or custom content. Content about tagged parts and areas of the machine can be displayed on NFC capable mobile devices and tablets. Edson will offer a wand soon that allows tagged content to be displayed on the InteleVüe touchscreen or populated in an email that can be sent to connected non-NFC compliant devices.
“InteleLink tags can be customized by plant, by machine, by part, by customer and contain nearly any kind of content users want to provide on the machine instantaneously,” said Werner. “InteleLink is an outstanding maintenance, troubleshooting and safety tool. It saves time and allows users to perform virtually any support activity while near the machine.”
InteleVüe
InteleVüe employs a smart touchscreen control system produced by Beckhoff to display real time or recorded high-speed video captured by magnetic, wireless cameras installed inside the machine. Video data can help users make fine adjustments, troubleshoot issues, and identify potential problems before they result in downtime. The 24-inch, multi-touch screen provides the convenience of a tablet installed directly on important capital equipment. The InteleVüe touchscreen allows fingerprint scanning for secure operation and maintenance functions. InteleTül and InteleLink will both operate seamlessly with the InteleVüe touch screen.
See the entire InteleSuite at Pack Expo, Las Vegas September 23-25, Booth C-2020. Edson will also be discussing intelligent systems on packaging machinery including the InteleSuite on Pack Expo’s Innovation Stage on Tuesday, September 24 from 2:00 to 2:30 PM, Room 2.