TECHNOLOGY | CONTROLS AND MONITORING


Right: Starlinger’s Grafit 4.0


system includes software for plant monitor- ing and digital process optimisation


towards machine learning, which means that the system can be trained to detect errors at an early stage. The resulting predictive maintenance of the machines leads to higher machine uptime, which in turn increases efficiency, reduces production scrap and lowers costs”. Operators can access Grafit 4.0 from their


Right: Coperion K-Tron’s KCM-III feeder controller


smartphone using the SmartView app. Popular features, according to the company, are push notifi- cations, the storage of recipes, the export of data into a computer program or ERP system and a function to limit access to machinery with an RFID lock. Online tutorials are available for operator training. Traceability is the basis for


Starlinger’s RTrack batch tracking software. On delivery of waste raw material, the goods are marked with a QR code which is scanned at each station that the material passes through. The data is recorded by the system and gives information about the receipt, processing and delivery of materials. The company says: “The system makes an impor- tant contribution to quality management in areas such as PET recycling; another area of application is a concept developed by Starlinger that focusses on a circular economy for big bags made from polypropylene fabric [see Plastics Recycling World November-December 2019 issue].” Erema’s offering for customers to monitor quality during the recycling process is its Quali- tyOn package. Used with its recycling lines, QualityOn enables continuous monitoring of colour and melt volume-flow rate (MVR) values at


36 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | November/December 2020


the machine. This allows operators to quickly detect and react to deviations from the target state. QualityOn: MVR is designed for the demands of recycling processes: for example, it is insensitive to extremely small contaminant particles of 100-1,000 µm which are common in post-consumer recycling. It is possible to sort quality according to different viscosity grades by means of a downstream recycled pellet deflector. QualityOn: Colour is an online spectrophotom- eter which detects the smallest differences in colour which are not visible to the human eye. Its teach function enables learning of the desired production in line with the current colour. At K2019, Erema launched QualityOn: Polyscan, which is installed at the extruder’s preconditioning unit and measures the polymer and filler composi- tion of the input material in real time. The group also launched its BluPort customer platform for digital systems, including the QualityOn packages, Smart Start Package for a high degree of automa- tion, and Smart Factory re360 (see Plastics Recy- cling World November-December 2019). Compounding technology group Coperion’s


Smart Machine Features are a package of different functions in the extrusion line control system which monitor process conditions and detect deviations that might affect the product quality. The group’s controls systems are equipped with OPC 40084 interfaces, uniform standard interfaces based on OPC UA for extruder commu- nication with higher ranking manufacturing execution systems. “We are very confident, that


the Smart Machine Features that are now part of our extruder control system will help our customers to prevent production of large amounts of off-spec material and even reduce their effort in quality


control in the future,” says Markus Schmudde, Head of Research and Development, Compounding & Extrusion, at Coperion. Coperion is also developing its Industry 4.0


platform, C-Beyond. “We will announce first applications on this new product portfolio soon,” says Schmudde. “It will give customers much deeper insight into their data and provides visualisations for data-based decision-making. This enables production managers to further increase their efficiency.” At K2019, Coperion introduced a number of new products, including feeders from its Coperion


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: STARLINGER


IMAGE: COPERION


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