Introduction
Denca Controls is experienced in providing integrated automated control
systems across many diverse industry sectors, including the printing
industry.
Denca's ability to provide automated process control - including remote
diagnostics and sophisticated software engineering to repair and improve
the production process - is particularly relevant to manufacturers of
complex customisable machinery, as the following case study demonstrates:
Problem
JM Heaford was developing a complex new proofing machine which would
allow their print industry customers to greatly reduce expensive
downtime on their main printing presses. They asked Denca to provide a
machine control system which would fully automate the process.
Solution
While automation of the proofing process was the key goal, discussions
with the client allowed Denca to further enhance the solution provided
by the inclusion of remote diagnostics and software upgrades for the
press. This allowed remote repair plus customer-driven improvement and
personalisation of the proofing process. Hence Denca's full solution
included the following elements:
- Design of a machine control system which would rotate, engage and disengage the plates, main drum and anilox cylinders in the right sequence, at exactly the right speed, for just a single cycle.
- Manufacture of the specialised control equipment required.
- Coding the control program for the programmable logic controller (PLC), remote diagnostics adapter, and the human machine interface (HMI) touch screen to be used by the operator.
- Assembling the motor control cabinets and installing & commissioning the full system.
Benefits
The machine control system delivered the following main benefits to JM
Heaford:
- technically complex machine control problem translated into a reliable, simply operated solution
- addition of remote diagnostics allows repair and improvement of proofing process for worldwide customers without the need for an expensive overseas trip
- system structured to allow customer-driven development and enhancement of the process to personalise it to each customer's unique needs.
Technical
The proofing press - a 7 axis servo-drum flexo - produces progressive
proofs for each of the four colours in the CMYK printing process, which
allows the exact set-up of each print station in minimal time.
The proofing process involves a system of plates, drums and cylinders
which are variously rotated, engaged and disengaged while single sheets
of paper are fixed to the proofing drum to produce high quality
progressive proofs. Denca was awarded the contract to:
- provide a detailed electrical & instrumentation design package
- software engineering - configure automation software for PLC, HMI and remote diagnostics
- manufacture and assemble machine control panels & control equipment
- install and commission the full system.
The automation and remote diagnostics system consisted of the following
main elements:
- Siemens S7-300 PLC
- Siemens MP 270B HMI colour touch screen
- Bosch Rexroth servo control
- Siemens Teleservice dial-up adapter
The above installation provided JM Heaford with an automated proofing
system which was simple to operate, repair, upgrade and develop in an
interactive, customer-driven process.
For further details, please contact Alan Brennan on 0151 257 9010
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