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Machine Development Driven by the Latest in Advanced Controls

Whether it’s improving fill accuracy, simplifying changeovers, reducing machine footprint, or making it easier to penetrate specific regional markets, advanced controls technology is the key.

The CP3918 Control Panel offers advanced, intuitive HMI for the XACT-FIL machine through its 19-in. multi-touch screen.
The CP3918 Control Panel offers advanced, intuitive HMI for the XACT-FIL machine through its 19-in. multi-touch screen.

Four different packaging machinery OEMs are meeting emerging marketplace demands by leveraging the latest in controls and automation technology. At ProMach’s Federal Manufacturing group, Beckhoff components are behind a next-gen liquid weight filler. At Coesia’s R.A Jones, SIKO position indicators now rely on a standardized communications protocol, IO-Link, for data transmission to and from the PLC. At Winpak, continuous controls improvements involving Bosch Rexroth technology have brought multiple benefits. And at Omori-Europe, servo motors and drives from Lenze make it much easier to penetrate a European market whose regulations and safety requirements are quite specific.

We begin with Federal Manufacturing, where meeting customer demands while adding functionality led to the 2017 introduction of the XACT-FIL™ machine. An important addition to the comprehensive range of ProMach solutions, the XACT-FIL is a multi-model line of next-generation weight fillers suitable for HDPE, PET, metal, or glass containers in sizes ranging from 1 oz to 5 gal. The machines use a feed screw to load containers onto a carousel. Then a filling turret dispenses liquid food products—hot sauce, milk, olive oil—or non-food products including paint, chemicals, or automotive lubricants. Scales throughout the machine measure the weight of a container thousands of times per second, providing a fill-weight accuracy of plus or minus half a percent—or better. Containers then move to a capping turret to be sealed.

Because the XACT-FIL offers greater versatility than previous Federal systems, ProMach engineers had to upgrade to new automation and controls technologies capable of supporting not just versatility but greater speed and reliability. They also wanted to minimize space requirements and the number of cables involved. After all, in the food industry, fewer cables means improved hygiene. “More cables also create more entry points for equipment failure, so a single cable running a device is better than two,” says Cezary Mroz, Vice President of Engineering for ProMach Filling Systems.

Coordinating the machine’s rapid yet precise loading, filling, and capping sequences requires powerful automation, motion control, and I/O systems. In addition, all hardware and software must communicate with the utmost precision, as high quality, non-contact filling is one of the machine’s main selling points. In this process, the liquid never touches the container above the fill line or the exterior of the nozzle, which prevents liquids from dripping on the outsides of containers and keeps the machine clean. “With non-contact filling, the nozzle hovers above the opening, usually about a quarter of an inch,” Mroz says. “Strict attention to hygiene and avoiding cross-contamination is critical, so non-contact filling is simply the cleanest approach.”

All of these considerations created a tall order for ProMach, and Mroz and his team did not have time to waste. The XACT-FIL machine needed to premier at PACK EXPO 2017, but at the beginning of the year, they still had not finalized the design. Faced with this deadline, Mroz and his team turned to Beckhoff Automation in February of 2017. In fairly short order they had designed a system that uses a Beckhoff CX5140 Embedded PC with a four-core Intel Atom E3845 processor. Mroz explains that the embedded PC’s dimensions of 142 mm x 100 mm x 92 mm quickly reduced cabinet size: “When many people see the CX embedded controller, they ask me, ‘Where’s the rest of it?’ It’s exceptionally compact and powerful, which is exactly what we needed.” This helped ProMach improve the reliability and throughput of the XACT-FIL, adds Kurt Schneider, Applications Engineer for Beckhoff.

The CX5140 runs TwinCAT 3 automation software, and Mroz appreciates that the open hardware platform also runs any add-on software that works on Windows and easily communicates with legacy systems. Mroz explains that the benefits of TwinCAT became more apparent due to its unique runtime licensing: “Our original project included our base PLC and HMI programs, and we thought that would cover all of the machine functions. However, as the project grew, we needed to include motion control. A runtime license was simply added to make the
application ready for motion. It’s nothing more than electronic keying.” As a backup, a CFast card programmed with all PLC and motion control projects for the XACT-FIL ensures that even if the machine encounters a problem, it can continue to load, fill, and cap containers with a quick swap of the solid-state media if needed.

Machine operators control and monitor XACT-FIL units via a Beckhoff CP3918 control panel, which boasts a 19-inch touchscreen and multi-touch functionality for advanced HMI. This stainless steel model is mounted to a pole beside the filling turret, making it easy to see the screen and monitor the machine functions at the same time. “The multi-touch panel is very sleek and simple, and the resolution on the screen is brilliant as well,” Mroz says. “Beckhoff offers multiple multi-touch panel form factors that work with the scalable HMI software options to provide solutions for any screen size and performance level we need to implement.”

For motion control hardware, ProMach selected Beckhoff AM8841 servo motors to operate the filling turret, capper, and feed screw. These stainless series servo motors on timing screws reduce the amount of torque needed and support IP69K wash-down environments. The final design boasts a unique lubrication and vibration-free Accu-Cycloidal™ gearing system developed over many years by ProMach. Mroz found that AX5000 series servo drives from Beckhoff provided compact hardware to implement the three-axis motion system: “With other drive vendors we tested, we would have had to use a wider servo drive form factor, meaning the doors wouldn’t close in the compact enclosure we used in the XACT-FIL to maintain small machine footprint. However, the AX5000 servo drives are very narrow and fit perfectly.” In addition, one cable technology (OCT) provides power and feedback signals to the motors through one cable, further reducing footprint.

Serving as the drives bus and the I/O system, EtherCAT industrial Ethernet communication facilitates real-time communication while further minimizing form factor.

Thomas Retzlaff, Wisconsin Area Sales Manager for Beckhoff, says the high-density 16-channel HD EtherCAT Terminals proved especially helpful in reducing footprint: “Rotary fillers have considerable space constrictions, so the compact HD terminals are perfect for this application,” he adds. It is especially important with non-contact filling to ensure that each container is handled with great accuracy and each machine component activated at precisely the right time. Mroz explains that the real-time networking capabilities of EtherCAT eliminate common mistakes on the production line: “EtherCAT delivers by far the fastest, most widely adopted industrial protocol available in terms of device variety,” says Mroz.

While boasting a design just as durable and hygienic as previous ProMach solutions, the XACT-FIL reduced its required part count by 25% and overall machine footprint by 30%. In addition, EtherCAT roughly quadrupled the number of weight measurements per second, increasing it from 1,200 to 5,000. “EtherCAT and TwinCAT allow the valve output I/O and the load cell measurements to be synchronously scanned with the PLC code cycle time of 200 microseconds,” says Beckhoff’s Schneider. “This provides tighter overall valve response and accuracy.”

The ProMach and Beckhoff engineers completed the first XACT-FIL in time for PACK EXPO 2017, and in addition to shrinking size requirements and using open platform PC-based controls, the machine provides a plug-and-play solution. This was something Mroz always wanted to accomplish but was unable to do so until partnering with Beckhoff. This showcases the flexibility of Beckhoff technology in creating a modular weight-filling system, says Retzlaff.

Mroz believes there are no limitations to what PC-based control technology and a can-do mindset can accomplish. However, it is easier for ProMach, as an international company, to build and sell equipment when its automation and control technology vendor can provide components and support worldwide. “We have experienced many advantages due to cost savings and the quality of the technology itself, but another benefit is that Beckhoff is a global company,” Mroz says. “Because we can get support wherever and whenever we need it, I’m not losing any sleep worrying about whether a machine will power up tomorrow or the next day. Beckhoff has harnessed all the benefits of PC-based systems to help us provide a reliable, highly accurate, and internationally recognized weight-filling solution.”

Advantages of recognized standards
Position indicators from SIKO GmbH play an important role when it comes to changeover in all eight models in the Criterion series of cartoners from RA Jones, a Coesia company. Some years ago these position indicators were mechanical in nature, where an operator would pull out a manual to see what setting was needed on the position indicator if production was changing from, say, a six- to an eight-pack. The operator would then manually modify machine parameters according to instructions in the manual.

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