Case Study
High Speed Packing & Sorting
Our customer had a machine that sorted and packaged seed packets. They needed to increase the throughput of their machine but were limited by their PLC because the I/O latency was too high. High speed sorting and packaging machines require high speed and deterministic IO. Our customer chose to use our RMP EtherCAT Motion Controller because it improved their sorting speed by a factor of 5.
Details
Compay Name: Private
Date: Private
Website: Private
Motion Controller Highlights
High Speed and Deterministic I/O Capability– The customer required several IO functions to be performed both quickly and deterministically. Our RMP EtherCAT motion controller includes several features that enabled them to increase their sorting and packing throughput.
Automatic Output Trigger Based on Encoder Position– Using a feature of our controller called User Limits, our customer was able to setup a comparison of the conveyor position and the location of the packet that is monitored in controller firmware. As soon as the seed packet reached the diverter position, the user limit comparison became true and fired the “extend” digital output within 1 EtherCAT sample to extend the appropriate actuator and divert the packet into it’s box.
Quick Retract– Once the diverting actuator becomes extended to divert the packet, the user limit feature was used to quickly retract the actuator by evaluating the state of the “extended” digital input and immediately triggering the “retract” output.
Services Provided by RSI
Hardware Selection – RSI assisted with the selection of the IO modules needed for the application including Digital inputs/outputs and Analog inputs/outputs.
Application Software and HMI Development – RSI developed an intuitive touchscreen based user interface. The UI takes care of all the I/O logic and helps the operator observe performance, maintain the system, and analyze I/O index location.
The application we developed logs relevant data to an online server for remote diagnostics and data analytics. The data is analyzed alongside other installed machines to determine if a machine is in need of maintenance. The data is also used to identify operators in need of further training which improves worker efficiency.
User Interface
Statistics Tab
Shows specific data. The UI in this project displayed the cumulative package ejections since the system was ran initially and the package ejections of the current day, it also displays the average package ejections since the system was started and the average ejections per hour of the current day. It displays a weekly history of how many package ejections per day, and a real-time window of currently ejected packages, their lane, and the time of ejection. This window was tailored specifically for this customer, but necessary changes can be made if needed.
IO View Tab
IO Configuration Tab
Solution Technologies
- sRMP EtherCAT Motion Controller
- Ultra high Precision Angular Encoders
- Servo Motors
- High Torque Gearheads
- EtherCAT Servo Drives
Customer Benefits
- Extremely reliable control solution for mission critical applications.
- Custom torque bias control algorithm achieves zero backlash and arc-second system accuracy.
- Real time OS integration for application development.
customers have automated with help of our products and team.
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