FEATURE DRIVES, CONTROLS & MOTORS
Controls deliver speed and efficiency for packaging machinery
A UK manufacturer of vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) equipment has boosted machine speeds by 30 percent, ramped up efficiencies and is about to launch a new continuous-motion range, thanks largely to Omron drives and controls
Omron technologies help Line Equipment VFFS machines consistently achieve 98 percent plus efficiency
to sweets, spices or crisps. Customers will often ask about speeds before they ask about the cost. Over the past three years or so, with our all-servo machines, throughput has risen dramatically from 70 bags per minute (bpm) to 100bpm.” That leap in speed came largely thanks to the upgrade some 18 months ago from Omron’s CJ1 PLC to the faster, next- generation CP2, he adds.
N
ottinghamshire-based Line Equipment builds a range of
equipment from horizontal FFS to volumetric dosing, flow wrappers and auxiliary systems. But the bulk of the 37 machines it constructed and sold last year, says managing director John Blashkiw, were VFFS bagging machines used by leading food brands. In addition, Line Equipment carried out
10 machine upgrades during 2014, retrofitting the latest control systems from Omron Electronics. Omron is the company’s sole supplier of servo drives, PLCs and other control equipment, in a relationship going back 10 years. “Sometimes customers ask us for other brands’ control systems, and we have to say: ‘Sorry, we only use Omron,’” Blashkiw reports. “The programme is bullet-proof. It ticks all the boxes in terms of efficiency, speed, high reliability and low maintenance.” He explains: “The majority of our sales
are into the food industry - packing everything from carrots and frozen veg
Omron’s CP2 PLC boosted machine speed by 30 percent
Line efficiencies have also benefitted. “We’ve had no problems since we’ve been using Omron components,” says Blashkiw. “When we install a system, it will
generally have to hit at least 98
percent efficiency.
That’s pretty much the industry standard now.”
Omron’s new servo drives on the sealing jaws offer huge energy savings
ENERGY SAVINGS Energy savings are another of the incentives for a move to the latest servo drives, says Line Equipment. “If you look at the energy
almost 100 percent guarantee that the equipment will start up,” says Blashkiw. As well as the PLC, G5 servo drive and
SmartStep servo drives, Line Equipment integrates Omron’s NS8 human machine interface (HMI). “As well as the speed, it reports the diagnostics and seven-day production tables, so you can see the number of filled and empty packs. It’s pretty in-depth,” says Blashkiw. “Integrating heating controls into the HMI tidies up the design so that we don’t have fit in secondary sets of controls.” The partnership with Omron also
“When
we install a system, it will
requirements of a pneumatic machine, the jaw closing mechanism on a VFFS machine, which is just one part of the cycle, needs 15 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of compressed air,” says Blashkiw. “That’s a compressor continuously working away in the background.” The actual savings made will depend on the specifics of an installation, Line Equipment explains. The same is true for payback times.
RELIABILITY Reliability is another key factor. “Using the Omron’s control system, even on the coldest winter’s morning, you’ve got an
18 JUNE 2015 | AUTOMATION
generally have to hit at least 98 percent efficiency. That’s pretty much the industry standard now”
allows customers to feel in control of their own equipment, says Line Equipment. “The fact that we are using an off-the-shelf PLC and HMI is a selling tool for us,” says Blashkiw. “The customer does not have to come back through us. It’s a quick fix in the event of a breakdown, for example.” As he explains, Omron’s drives and controls allow Line Equipment to offer systems which are low-cost as well as reliable. Nor is it only
the electronics which are
reliable. “Omron’s backup and support
is second-to-none,” Blashkiw enthuses. Now Omron is supporting Line
Equipment in the development of its next generation of VFFS machines. “We’re well on the way to developing our first continuous-motion machines, which will also use Omron controls,” he says. “With the support of our supplier, we hope to have a machine ready to show at the PPMA Show in September this year.”
Omron Electronics
www.industrial.omron.co.uk Enter 210 T: 0870 752 0861
/AUTOMATION
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