Developing excellence

At Packology, Schneider Electric once again demonstrates its role as a historic and privileged partner of OEMs in the packaging sector, presenting the latest advancements of the PacDrive 3 offer, within the the MachineStruxure platform, and of Plantstruxure, in which, within the same environment, all data relating to energy and the production process are analyzed. Objective: maximum facility optimization.

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, is a vital and historic partner of builders of automatic packaging machinery, to whom it offers a complete technological offer destined for primary and secondary packaging and processing.
The most prized architecture for this market is MachineStruxure, an integrated platform that combines all mechatronic aspects of the machine’s structure, enabling optimization of every phase of the machine’s life cycle, from design to maintenance.

Inside is the PacDrive3 offer, which has been expanded with numerous hardware components. New HMI solutions, wireless access points and medium-range PLC applications join PacDrive 3’s key strength: the availability of software and libraries specifically developed to respond to the functional requirements of the packaging sector. In fact, the developer can select the best function for applications at any level: from simply operating the electronic camshaft to controlling parallel or anthropomorphic robots.
But, explains Antonio Marra, Marketing Manager – Machine Solutions of Schneider Electric, there is much more to discover at Packology.
«Now more than ever, packaging machinery presents fantastic synergies with process automation; furthermore, OEMs require solutions that guarantee maximum efficiency in terms of production and energy. At Packology, we present a new MES platform, Ampla EOS, dedicated to controlling productivity and energy consumption». This platform is open to OPC DA, Historians, Webservices, B2MML and SQL Stored Procedure, which in their turn are offered in Schneider Electric’s process automation architecture PlantStruxure. «The combination of MachineStruxure and PlantStruxure is the general purpose response we offer to the entire manufacturing industry» Marra adds.

ILM 62 integrated servo drives use the same central power as the LXM 62 multi-axis servosystems with drives positioned in the control box, and can be made to function with them in mixed configurations. The image shows a configuration that includes (from left to right): power box, two double drives and a link module.
 

Close to the market
Beyond showcasing its new technological offer, Schneider Electric’s objective at Packology is to reaffirm the concern’s close relationship with its customers.
«Attending Packology, an event expressly conceived as a fair for and by machine builders, means having four days of direct and continuous contact with our customers, their evolving needs, their questions - explains Marra. «And it’s all the more important to participate this year, considering that, thanks to an orientation toward exports, the packaging sector is one of the few that is still reporting positive results even during recession.
Italy is the world’s second largest home to machine builders specialized in packaging and boasts numerous concerns of outstanding excellence; we are very proud to have accompanied the growth and success of these concerns with our technologies».
A fundamental element of Schneider Electric’s approach toward its OEM customers specialized in packaging is the company’s capacity for offering complete support during development and post-sales. And this is due to an extensive network of specialists throughout Italy.
«The jewel of our system is our FlexCenter and Service team, which operates from our facility in Castelmaggiore (BO). This team - Marra adds - like our entire service network, is also a point of reference for logistics solutions and support for the OEM’s sales operations anywhere in Italy or worldwide».

What’s new: on show at Packology Schneider Electric presents its most recent solutions to packaging sector operators in attendance at Packology. Automation Controller LMC 101/201. Entry level products of the LMC range (which enable synchronizing up to four or eight axes, respectively). To round out the series that also includes the LMC models 300, 400 and 600C: these controllers are designed for economical automation solutions with scalability; they enable synchronizing up to 99 real servo-axes (cycle time 1ms) and up to 255 virtual axes. Stand-alone servo drive Lexium LXM 52. Made for use in combination with the new PacDrive 3 controllers LMC 101C and 201C, it enables greater scalability in applications that require a limited number of axes. Daisy chain solution for servo-modules ILM62. The servo-modules Lexium ILM 62 are plug&play, with integrated regulation electronics. They transfer the machine’s servo drive from the power box directly on board, reducing installation times and the complications of wiring. They can be put online using a specific system made up of hybrid cables and distributors, with extremely flexible topologies, including in daisy chain applications. Operator panels Magelis GTO. Designed for simple to medium complexity applications, these panels are available in six different sizes (from 3.5 to 12.1’’), with 65k color, LED-backlit TFT display. Among the immense variety of models, those with stainless steel face stand out for their suitability for food&beverage and pharmaceuticals. They can communicate with fieldbus devices remotely and interface with IT infrastructure. Using the innovative APP Vijeo Desing’Air, they can even be managed by smartphone or tablet. New wireless access points for controllers. The Harmony XBR5 range of wireless, batteryless controllers, which require no wiring or installation of other accessories between the switch and the electrical cabinet, has been enhanced with a new type of access point capable of supporting up to 60 radio transmitters. The access point connects the transmitter and the PCL by converting the radio signal received into the required communication protocol (RS485 Modbys serial line or Modbus/TCP). By request, it is possible to further expand the signal using an external antenna or relay.

Thinking about the future of the sector, Schneider Electric’s Marketing Manager of Machine Solutions Antonio Marra points out a few trends that Schneider Electric considers extremely important. «In ever increasing numbers, machine builders are choosing the path of integrating processes and functions, two areas formerly quite distinct. I’m thinking, for example, about the integration of robots with the packaging part. Futhermore, there is a clear need to reduce the space occupied by machines, as well as to have greater flexibility in order to adapt to new materials and packaging types: elements that are already part of Schneider Electric’s offer. A third issue we consider important relates to facilitated interaction between machine and operator».