TECHNOLOGY | MATERIALS HANDLING
Right: Wittmann’s E-Max 2 conveyor control with TeachBox plus
filter cleaning and purging valves, Wittmann says. The eMax/24 is suitable for use in abrasive environ- ments and for the material flow to be controlled visually. It has a high-resolution QVGA 3.5 TFT colour screen with a simple user interface that provides a high-visibility display of process parameters. Wittmann also developed a new EcoDrive vacuum pump that automatically optimises the energy consumption of the central material conveying system while reliably conveying all materials to their usage point. By using appropriate monitoring mechanisms and the associated technology of automatic load control, energy savings of up to 75% can be achieved, depending on system configuration, the company says. The flexible design of the EcoDrive vacuum pump makes it possible to use the new technology in both new and existing systems, which represents another step in efforts to optimise the energy consumption of plastics production and reduce energy costs, the company says. AEC has increased the configurability of its
VacTrac Plus series conveying control system, which is suitable for use in conveying applications that serve injection moulding, extrusion, regrind/ recycling, blow moulding, rotomoulding and thermoforming operations and more. The fully configurable and customisable conveying control system allows for pumps and receiver stations to be added without having to purchase a completely new system. Processors expanding a plant simply connect the added pumps and receiver stations by adding I/O modules and new software to provide expanded capacity. The system controls vacuum receivers,
AEC has further developed its VacTrac Plus, making it a fully configurable and customisable conveying control system
vacuum pumps, remote proportioning valves, purge valves, knife gates and pump or hopper blowback. The standard VacTrac Plus can control from 1 to 12 pumps, and 1 to 44 stations in any desired configuration using its I/O modules. AEC has expanded the capability of the VacTrac Plus with the roll out of distributed I/O panels (DiO). VacTrac Plus DiO is a material conveying control system for medium to large applications, and can control up to 24 pumps, 100 stations and up to 50 purge valves. Users can configure six different functions at each receiver station, includ- ing low level alarms, local alarms, knife gate output, purge valve, remote proportioning valve and blowback for each station. DiO is modular and expandable so conveying systems can grow without being limited by a small discrete controls platform, the company says. The DiO panels are connected to the Main VacTrac Plus panel via Ethernet which provides a cost-effective wiring installation solution in factories that are expanding. VacTrac Plus DiO panels are designed to easily reconfigure factory communications. A System Auto-Assign I/O function automatically detects and reconfigures the I/O when new pumps or stations are installed. When expanding I/O using a DiO panel over the Ethernet, the VacTrac Plus will configure and auto-assign the I/O for a fast installation, the company says. The VacTrac Plus series features a high-resolu- tion 7-in colour touchscreen that incorporates an Allen Bradley Micro850 PLC for ease of operation and monitoring. System setup screens ease system configuration while status screens provide real- time monitoring of the full system with visual representations of all pumps and stations. Colour coded status indicators quickly identify the current state of each pump and station, from ready and conveying, to in-demand, idle, disabled or
42 INJECTION WORLD | October 2023
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: AEC
IMAGE: WITTMANN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
