When electronics makes the difference

On M.C.M. electronic machines, Siemens servo-drives and servomotors guarantee high performance and state-of-the-art diagnostics capabilities.

With over 40 years of experience, the M.C.M. company (Macchine Confezionatrici Marzaroli) creates flowpack and filling machinery for the food sector.
Seeking the highest possible performance and maximum reliability in packaging systems, the Lombardy-based manufacturer turned to Siemens with which it has been working since 2000 on the critical transition to mechatronic systems.
This was an important time for the concern, which has enacted a decisive advancement in the quality of its machines: now, for the same cost, its systems are more flexible, quieter, cleaner and more intuitive (even during control and diagnostics phases).
M.C.M. owner Gianluca Marzaroli explains: «We made this decision because, even though the market still expresses some reservations about electronic solutions concerning the difficulty of quickly fixing problems on the machine, with Siemens we have managed to completely eliminate this problem, and not only because of the reliability of Siemens solutions: even when a component is malfunctioning, it can be replaced with no need for adjusting parameters or the use of tools».
Even though M.C.M. is a family-run company, it exports 90% of its production to markets on every continent. «Selling high quality products with superior safety performance and flexibility - continues Marzaroli - has always been our goal, and Siemens has helped us to achieve it. Moreover, what matters on the market is quickly restarting production. For this reason, we sought out a system that combines performance, reliability, flexibility and economy. The Simotion motion control system, which manages all machine functions has proved ideal for this purpose, and combined with the Simatic S7-1200F safety PLC, it covers the diagnostic and access functions on all levels of the machine».

Just-in-time diagnostics for safety
The M254 flowpacker for ice cream and snacks is now fully electronic. M.C.M. has worked to signal issues quickly and precisely in order to minimize machine stops. The adoption of the Simatic S7-1200F safety PLC now enables quickly locating the problem/alarm to guarantee timely and targeted intervention.
«The installation of the Simatic S7-1200F has enabled us to discriminate as to which safety devices on the machine are activated, automatically or after the operator intervenes. In such a way, diagnostics are more precise, because it is known what is happening at the various machine stations, and we can intervene accordingly» states Marzaroli.
The Simatic S7-1200F also enables maintaining a SIL3 safety level and guarantees considerable saving on wiring time by making possible safety programming directly on the PLC, so that any modifications during development of the machine’s functional safety is simplified.
«We will continue using the Siemens PLC because it means we can count on an efficient emergency circuit that can be adapted to all our machines, which require complex safety devices» Marzaroli concludes.