Copyright © 2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved.

Advanced Container Flow Simulation for Beverage Lines

Srinivas KesariOEM Project Manager16th June 2011

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

Agenda Topics

1. Introduction to Beverage Lines

2. Key Packaging Machines

3. Beverage Line Operation and Control

4. Case Study : Line Balancing Simulation

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

Agenda Topics

1. Introduction to Beverage Lines

2. Key Focus Areas

3. Beverage Line Operation and Control

4. Case Study : Line Balancing Simulation

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 4

Challenges Line Performance & Integration Reduced Downtime & Waste Governmental Regulations Extensive material tracking Effective usage of Labor in Shop floor

Typical Operations in Beverage Packaging

Pallets of Empty Cans or Bottles

to be FilledNew or Used or direct feed from

Blow molder

Washing of the container

Liquid product from upstream process plant

Filling of the container then sealing it with a

lid or cap

Conveying System to

control buffer stocks

Heating the product to kill off unwanted

organisms

Labeling of the container

Packaging into Cases, 6pack, 24 pack etc.

Palletisation ready for transport

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

Typical Beverage Packaging Line Layouts

Depalletizer Uncaser Soaker Bottle Inspector Filler Crowner Pasteurizer Videojet CaserLabeller StoragePalletizerFill

control

Depalletizer Uncaser Rinser Filler Crowner Pasteurizer Videojet CaserLabeller StoragePalletizerFill control

Returnable Bottle line

Non returnable line

Depalletizer Riunser Filler Seamer Pasteurizer Caser StoragePalletizerFill control

Depalletizer Uncaser Soaker Filler Crowner Pasteurizer Videojet CaserLabeller StoragePalletizerFill control

Can Line

Returnable PET Line

Videojet

Blowmolder Rotary Rinser Filler Capper Pasteurizer Videojet CaserLabeller StoragePalletizerFill

control

PET Line

Decapper Sniffer

Preparation Filling Labeling Packing

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Typical Beverage Packaging Line Layouts

Depalletizer

Storage

Uncaser Soaker

Bottle Inspector

Filler Crowner

PasteurizerVideojetCaser

Labeller

Palletizer

Fill controlBuffer

BufferBu

ffer

BufferBuffer

Buffer

Buf

fer

Buffer

Buffer

Buf

fer

New Glass Depall

Pallet storage and inspection

Stretch/shrink wrap;

Buf

fer

Empty case washer

Empty case inspection

Decapper Buffer

Full case controlBuffer

Bottle Inspector

Buf

fer

Buffer

Buf

fer

Buffe

r

Labeller

Buf

fer

Buffer

Buffe

r

Example High Capacity Returnable Bottle Line with Buffer ZonesTo avoid over dimensioning of equipment, buffer zones are introduced between units to assure filler efficiency and product quality

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 7

Categorization of Equipment

Equipment at Pre-FillingFilling Station

Equipment at Post-Filling End of Line Packaging

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

Agenda Topics

1. Introduction to Beverage Lines

2. Key Packaging Machines

3. Beverage Line Operation and Control

4. Case Study : Line Balancing Simulation

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 9

Impact of Automation in Beverage

Machine Key Automation Products Application Comments

Filler Synch. Drives / Intelligent IO Solution / Wireless

Synchronous Position Gearing

400-600 / min indigenous

Conveyors Networked Drives – On Machine

Buffers and Accumulation Control

600 / min indigenous

Shrink wrappers Servo Motors – High Speed IO

Advanced CAM Design 40-50 / min

emerging

Labelers / Sleevers High End Motion Dead time Compensation 800 / min indigenous

Stretch-Molding Temperature Control / High Speed IO / Wireless

High Speed IO Control 600 / min indigenous

Case Packers / Un-Casers Motion ( Variant Sophistication )

Synchronized Path planning vs

Container Size8 –

12 Cases / min

Palletizers / De-palletizers Motion Carton orientation and Positioning

10 –

12 Cases / min

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Automation in Filling Technology

Electronic Valve Controlusing Device Logix

decentralized IO control

Wireless IO Communication (all rotary machines)

Prototype operating

AC-Drive to AC-Drive GearingEstablished Technology

Wireless reducing Cost of Slip Rings / Replacing Proprietary Electronics with off-the-shelf components

Automation for Sleever Technology

•

Performance improvement 50%- 100% on the same or similar

mechanical solutions–

Achieved through improved Cam Design and automatic time compensation mechanisms

–

Allows dynamic speed adaptation on an intermittent system

•

Results are–

Higher reliability –

due to fewer stops,

lower accelerations, –

Higher Flexibility –

due to more bottle

shapes and sizes in the same machine

–

Smaller Layout –

due to better dynamic speed adaptation

Conveyor

Cutter

Label Index

Bottle Sensor

Shooter Motor

Side Belt

High SpeedRegistration Sensor

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Automation for OPP Labeler Technology

shear roll

Bottle rotator

Glue gun

Feeder roll

•

Minimizing mechanical linkages by replacing Soft cams thru Servo Operation–

Achieved through improved Cam Design and automatic time compensation mechanisms

–

Allows dynamic speed adaptation on an intermittent system

•

Results are–

Higher reliability –

due to fewer stops,

lower accelerations, –

Higher Flexibility –

due to more bottle

shapes and sizes in the same machine

–

Smaller Layout –

due to better dynamic speed adaptation

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 13

Shrink wrapper Technology - Ready made template

Motor A

5

2

1

6

3

4

Sto

p

Star

t

Sto

p

Star

t

Continuous

Automatic Machine Resynchronization eliminates deadly downtimeFull Recipe Management rather than Black box system

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 14

Agenda Topics

1. Introduction to Beverage Lines

2. Key Packaging Machine

3. Beverage Line Operation and Control

4. Case Study : Line Control Simulation

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 15

•

Line should be “Balanced”

around the Filler–

Push empty containers “in”

–

Pull full containers “out”–

Filler should run constant at

100% of its rated capacity•

Conveying System Design Critical

–

To prevent container damage–

Bi-Directional accumulation

tables up and downstream of Filler to keep line running

•

Prerequisite factors for Good Line Design–

Conveyor Section Length

–

Variable speed control for conveyors–

Adequate buffer space for accumulation

Principles of Beverage Line Operation

100

105

110

115

120

125

130

135

Fork Truc

kDepa

lletis

erUnCas

er

Soake

r

Filler

Pasteu

riser

Labe

ller

Caser

Palleti

ser

Fork Truc

k

Machine Type

% o

f Fill

er C

apac

ity

Proper calculation of buffer zones and control programming is critical for optimal line layout and operation

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 1616

General Perception of Beverage Line Performance and Control

•

Classic setup of a line will try to set every machine at the maximum rated speed possible –

Resulting in frequent start/stop

–

Resulting in higher maintenance and frequent faults of the equipment•

Modern considerations look at more efficient ways to configure the equipment–

Adjusting equipment for optimal performance against the manufactured product

–

Adjusting conveyors for optimal capacity against the variant machine behaviors•

Goals are –

Continuous production

–

Maximum uptime until an upstream or downstream fault causes a filler stop–

Minimum time until the line balances after any equipment stop

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Traditional Principle of Conveyor Control

•

Low End Lines:–

Most of low end beverage lines do not have any line control, they just rely on couple bottle sensors to detect bottle starved or bottle blocked, depends on these situations to start/stop the machines.

–

Conveyors will run at a fixed speed and can not be adjusted.–

Operators are also exhausted by monitoring the line status all the day.

Start ConditionBottle

detected from Infeed

and bottle empty from outfeedStop ConditionBottle

starved from infeed

or bottle blocked from outfeed

17

Mach

ine

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Traditional Principle of Conveyor Control

•

High End Lines:–

Normally increase 1 or 2 sensors on the infeed

conveyor to adjust machine running

speed to Low/Mid/High speed.

–

Conveyor will be controlled.•

Break down the line to several conveyor sections and handled by monitoring the status of each section.

•

The concept for this solution is actually filling up every section, make each section as full as possible. If gap been detected, the upstream section will try to moving faster to fill up the gap, ensure each machine can running continuously.

18

Mach

ine

Speed will increase to fill up next

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 1919

Steps to accomplish Quality flow control

•

Stable, robust and efficient machine control–

Allowing a machine to adapt to different line conditions

–

Defining a standard and simple interface to a machine•

Understanding equipment capability and behavior –

Frequency of stops

–

Sensitivity to pressure –

Capability to accelerate and decelerate

•

Designing appropriate accumulation and transport sections–

Transport conveyors are primarily used for machines to measure volumes and adapt their behavior

–

Accumulation conveyors are used to allow for typical machine downtimes •

Developing appropriate line simulation and control algorithms

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Analyzing the Line Layout

To solve the issues from the conventional solution, the best way

is doing bottle flow control.

Flow control is actually bottle volume management

We also divide entire line to a couple of zones, and calculate the capacity of how many bottles can be load by each zone.

Based on this capacity, we can easily understand whether the zone is currently full or not.

Filler

Pasteurizer

Shrink Wrapper

BufferSleever

1Oven 1

Sleever

2Oven 2

Accumulator Pressureless

table

Spliter

Combiner

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Concepts – Line Buffer

Modeling Line Components

Critical aspect of any form of Line Flow Control is estimating its fill volume as the fill volume in combination with the own, preceding and subsequent unit’s material speeds is the base of a decision to increase, decrease speed or even generate a stop.

Our approach will be to program a geometrical buffer model for each Line Element that effectively passes counts of product (bottles) through the entire Line. For machines (Fillers, Labelers, Sleevers, wrappers) the physical production rate is easy to establish, while for bulk product conveyors this mechanism requires rate-relative estimates using

─

Length─

Width

─

Physical Speed─

Calculating Fill Volumes of the system

─

Understanding speeds and volumes of systems before and after

21

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 22

Line Balancing Technology

An AOI is used to handle the flow control for each conveyor section, you input the parameters of conveyors including length/width/maximum volume/line speed etc. The instruction will calculate the actual volume of product (bottles) within each section, also

adjusting the speed based on how

many bottles are being delivered to the next section.

We can link up each instruction, just like a soft line layout, and the programmer can easily identify the status of each section and aid in trouble shooting.

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Modeling process

FillerSleever

6m 1m 6m2.5m 3mPressureless

CombinerDosing ZoneBuffer ZoneFiller Outfeed

Sleever

Infeed

Packaging Line Speed : 500 bpm

Enter the machine speed

Enter the Conveyor Parameter

Conveyor Speed (meter per minutes

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 24

Agenda Topics

1. Introduction to Beverage Lines

2. Key Packaging Machine

3. Beverage Line Operation and Control

4. Case Study : Line Balancing Simulation

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 25

Line Simulation Model with HMI

Line Start-UpLine RunningLabeler Reload MaterialEnd of Production

Infeed Conveyor

Buffer Conveyor

DR08 Stop when Utilization reach set value

DR07 reduce speed for product accumulation

-All machines and conveyors are ready to produce

- Conveyor will be turn on once the proceeding machine/conveyor has output bottle rate

- Progressive Line Start

-Conveyors operating at line speed

- Conveyors have different utilization set value – Buffer, Infeed, Outfeed, Dosing, etc

- Adjust conveyor speed base on utilization set value

-Creating buffer space on conveyor

-Reduce conveyor speed to accumulate bottle

- Stop conveyor upon reaching High Utilization%

-Maximize Filler Run time

-Line PLC receive end production

- Stop conveyor when utilization reach zero or low low limit

-Stop machine after infeed conveyor has stop

- Progressive Line Stopping

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 26

Typical Machine interface to Line Controller

•

4-8 Input Signals

to the PLC that can be individually configured

–

Do Nothing (default)–

Machine Low Production Speed–

Machine Run IN / Run OUT Speed–

Machine High Production Speed–

Machine Surge Speed–

Open Infeed–

Machine Start permissible–

Run by External Reference Speed

•

4-8 Output Signals

by the PLC that can be individually configured

–

Do nothing (default)–

Static High Signal–

Machine Faulted–

Machine Producing -

Infeed

Screw is running

–

Pulse per 10 products–

Machine Running–

Automatic Speed Active–

Discharge Saturation–

Product Starvation–

Minimum Packaging Material–

Maintenance required

Line Interface

SleeverLine Controller

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 27

Line Control for Beverage Line

1734-ADN

FieldPower

SystemPow er

AdapterStatus

DeviceNetStatus

PointBusStatus

1734IB4

1

2

3

4

24VDCSinkInput

ModuleStatus

NetworkStatus

NODE

1734IB4

1

2

3

4

24VDCSinkInput

ModuleStatus

NetworkStatus

NODE

1734IB4

1

2

3

4

24VDCSinkInput

ModuleStatus

NetworkStatus

NODE

1734IB4

1

2

3

4

24VDCSinkInput

ModuleStatus

NetworkStatus

NODE

1734IB4

1

2

3

4

24VDCSinkInput

ModuleStatus

NetworkStatus

NODE

1734IB4

1

2

3

4

24VDCSinkInput

ModuleStatus

NetworkStatus

NODE

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 28

Summary

•

RA domain expertise consultancy includes….–

Line Layout Modeling

–

Technical guidance to Optimize the size of Conveyors, interconnections between the various Equipments

–

Guiding the OEMs on how to use global programming standards such as Pack_ML

–

Provide tools and technologies in the form of templates and function blocks to help OEMs build higher speed and more flexible equipments; and assisting Integrators and Users in how to optimize Line layouts & Plant operations

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2009 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All rights reserved. 29

Any questions ?

Thank You