Horizontal flow pack machine that monitors its own energy usage

The ACMA machine’s energy consumption measurements include energy consumption per time unit during live or standby operation are displayed on a Magelis HMI.

For years, ACMA has been offering high-performance horizontal flow pack machines with its SP2 series. The machines are suitable for packaging a wide range of products measuring from 130 mm to more than 100 cm in length. The machine has a balcony design, is fully servo-driven, and works in a continuous process at up to 120 meters of film per minute. Depending upon the product length, this can result in a maximum throughput of about 1,200 products per minute.

The version SP2 NG has a number of features that represent state-of-the-art technology in horizontal flow pack machines including:

– Sealing jaws and knives mounted with shock absorbers on cantilever crimpers

– Product being held firmly to the conveyor belt by a vacuum, even at high speeds

– A pneumatic film tensioning system that ensures “no product/no bag,” even at full speed

Automatic print mark detection and extremely delicate film handling help to ensure that even thin films do not get torn. Film splicing is fully automatic, as is the reel change at the end of the film roll. The rotating reel holder allows the empty roll to be easily switched out off-line. Thanks to the servo-based drive design, product or format changes can be accomplished simply by calling up product-specific parameter settings in the control panel.

30% energy reduction over last model

Depending upon the product being packed, the “Green Machine” uses up to 30% less energy than its predecessor. ACMA says their goal was to reduce energy consumption, and make the usage more transparent. Users can see, during operation how much energy the machine is using, both from an absolute perspective and for each product packaged. This enables users to perform real energy management.

To achieve this ambitious goal, ACMA collaborated with Schneider Electric, its automation partner for the machine. The automation solution uses a PacDrive controller, combining PLC, motion control, and IT functionalities in a single hardware platform. An IEC 61131-3-compliant program generates all of the machine functions, while simultaneously synchronizing 10 to 15 servo axes

Schneider Electric automation is also used for a number of other functions including Altivar frequency inverters and the Human Machine Interface is a Magelis touch panel.

Energy consumption analysis

An energy consumption analysis reported that, the high dynamic servo motors of the SH series and the iSH series were already optimised and that overall, the machine used up to 30% less energy compared to traditional machines, however, the conveyer belt offered significant potential for energy saving.

The belt uses vacuum suction to hold the product in place, and is essential for safe high speed packaging processes. Operation of the required vacuum pump, however, is relatively energy-intensive. It was determined that regulating the vacuum pump with a frequency converter could lead to energy-savings of 20% because the default vacuum pump power level is designed for the most unfavourable conditions and can be reduced in most situations. An Altivar frequency converter was installed for the vacuum pump to enable control of the power level.

Magelis HMI displays energy usage per product

The machine’s energy consumption measurements allow various parameters to be calculated based upon the resulting values. These parameters include energy consumption per time unit during live or standby operation, absolute energy consumption for a defined time interval, and energy consumption per packaged product for maximising economy.

The values are displayed on the Magelis HMI in both numeric and graphic form, as well as the processing of performance of the machine. The default display format can be individually adjusted to show numeric values or the “energy dashboard” graphic.

The availability of an online display of energy-relevant parameters allows each user to decide how to adjust the balance between high output and maximum economy. Information from packaging machines and other machine units working in the line is also available, which allows the user to define the overall conditions necessary for ideal economic operation.

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