THIS WEEK IN AUTOMATION: HMIs, Linear Drive Motors and More

New products from Amacoil, Axiomtek, Gorbel, Key Technology and Progea.

Precision Linear Drive Motor from Amacoil

The Precision Motion Drive System from Amacoil consists of a Model RG rolling ring linear drive integrated with a motion controller.

The drive is fully programmable and meets application requirements for precision winding/spooling, pick-and-place machines, X-Y coordinate tool movement, metrology equipment and other machinery to provide fast, accurate positioning and reciprocating linear motion; depending on the size of the drive nut it provides from 7 to 800 pounds of axial thrust.

Linear movement of the drive head is defined via software and monitored by sensors feeding back to the electronic control unit. Stop/start, travel direction, linear pitch, travel speed, repetitive processes, ramp up/down and other variables pertaining to drive nut movement may be programed.

The drive stores up to 20 programs that are easily recalled at the touch of a button.

The system is well suited for precision winding of a wide range of materials including wire/cable, PVC tubing, string, fiber, rope, rubber hose and vinyl strips. It also handles custom winding patterns and irregularly shaped spools. A single system may be set up to control multiple stations making it unnecessary to invest in multiple systems in order to help sustain high production rates. A stepper motor controlled by a Siemens S7 PLC is included in the package, and operation is enhanced with intuitive prompts displayed on a touch screen control panel.

For more information on this product, visit www.uhing.com.


GOT812L(H)-880 Panel PC from Axiomtek

Axiomtek, a designer and manufacturer of PC-based industrial computer products, introduced the GOT812L(H)-880, a fanless 12.1-inch stainless steel touch panel computer ideal for process automation in the food or chemical industry.

The IP66/IP69K-rated touch panel PC, GOT812L(H)-880, is designed to support Intel Core processor i5-4300U (1.9 GHz) with fanless operation. It is equipped with a 12.1” TFT XGA LCD display with 1024 x 768 pixels resolutions and offers options of 420 nits or 800 nits high brightness.

The industrial panel PC is made of SUS316 stainless steel, which can prevent bacteria growth and avoid rust by prolonged usage. Its IP66/IP69K-rated water/dust-proof enclosure and M12-type connectors ensure the product’s ability to resist ingress of high temperature steam and pressure washing.

The GOT812L(H)-880 has a wide operating temperature range of -20° to 50° C (-4° to -122° F) for use in freezing or high temperature conditions.

The fanless HMI offers options of projected capacitive touch screen or flat resistive touch screen. It comes with expandability interfaces with M12 locking, including two COM ports, four USB 2.0 ports and one gigabit Ethernet port.

Additionally, two PCI Express Mini Card slots are available for wireless network connections. The 12.1” high-quality stainless touch panel PC supports one 2.5″ SSD for storage and adopts a wide range 9-36V DC power input.

Moreover, it features various mounting options including suspension and VESA arm. It is certified with CE to meet industry grade approval standards and ready for Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, Windows Embedded Standard 8 and Windows Embedded Standard 7. 

For more information, visit www.axiomtek.com.

Intelligent Lifting Devices from Gorbel

Gorbel has recently announced their new G-Force and Easy Arm Intelligent Lifting Devices, which enable operators to lift and maneuver naturally, as if the devices were an extension of the user’s arms. The Q and iQ model Intelligent Lifting Devices are designed to help improve productivity, reduce the cost of product damage and minimize work-related injuries.

The Q model is the feature packed base model. It offers the same speed and precision as the higher-end iQ model, but without the added input/output features that the iQ offers. The iQ model offers additional intelligence features.

Gorbel’s G-Force and Easy Arm devices are part a material handling equipment line known as Intelligent Assist Devices (IADs). They use patented technology and an industrial processor controlled servo drive system to deliver greater lifting precision and speed.

The G-Force and Easy Arm offer:

  • ANTI-RECOIL TECHNOLOGY: This prevents the G-Force and Easy Arm units from moving or recoiling when there is a sudden change in load, reducing the risk of potentially serious injury.
  • INFINITE SPEED CONTROL: Gorbel’s Intelligent Lifting Devices move with the operator. They move as fast or as slow as the operator chooses to move. They are ideal for applications that require high speed at some points in the cycle and slow, precise movements at other points.
  • PINPOINT PRECISION: Gorbel’s Intelligent Lifting Devices deliver unparalleled precision with speeds of less than 1 fpm (0.3 mpm). This gives the operator the control necessary to finesse expensive or fragile parts.
  • POWER LOSS PROTECTION: A fail safe load braking system locks the unit in place in the event of a power loss.
  • BLAZING SPEEDS: With G-Force speeds reaching 200 fpm (61 mpm) and Easy Arm speeds reaching 180 fpm (55 mpm), these devices travel up to four times faster than traditional high-end lifting devices.
  • OPERATOR PRESENT FUNCTION: The handle grip of our Intelligent Lifting Devices uses a built-in photo-sensor that doesn’t allow the unit to move unless the operator initiates the movement.
  • CAPACITY OVERLOAD: The units will not lift if the load exceeds their rated capacity.
  • FLOAT MODE: The G-Force and Easy Arm units offer a versatile Float Mode. With a mere 1/2 lb (227 g) of force on the load itself, operators can precisely orient loads throughout the full stroke range by manipulating the load with their hands.

For more information on Gorbel, go to gorbel.com, or visit Gorbel at Booth# 6498 in the North hall at IMTS.

 

Belt-Fed Digital Sorter from Key Technology

Key Technology introduces its VERYX belt-fed digital sorters to improve product quality, increases yields and reduces the need for labor.

With an innovative mechanical architecture, sustainable all-sided surface inspection, multi-sensor Pixel Fusion, the highest resolution cameras and laser sensors available on a digital sorter and ease-of-use, VERYX maximizes foreign material (FM) and defect detection and removal while virtually eliminating false rejects.

To address a wide variety of food products and production capacities, the VERYX family will grow to include chute-fed sorter configurations in two widths and belt-fed sorters in four widths. With a highly customizable modular design, Key tailors each system specifically around the product characteristics and production objectives of each processor with the ideal sensors, sensor positions, lighting, separation/ejection system, product handling, software and more. The system can easily be upgraded in the field with more or different cameras, lasers, BioPrint hyperspectral sensors and other technologies, as customer requirements evolve over time.

The VERYX B175 features a 1750-mm wide inspection area suited for mid- to high-capacity operations. Ideal for potato processors sorting wet or frozen strips and specialty potato products as well as food processors sorting vegetables, fruits or other products, the B175 can be configured to achieve two- or three-way sorting, as needed.

For food processors requiring all-sided surface inspection, Key can arrange the sensors to achieve full view of each object in the product stream with no blind spots. On belt-fed systems, the VERYX bottom cameras are positioned away from product splatter to ensure lower sensor windows are not obstructed by buildup over time. Eliminating this previously common performance degradation keeps bottom cameras operating at peak performance and makes VERYX the first sorter to deliver 100 percent surface inspection that is sustained throughout the production cycle.

Key’s patented multi-sensor Pixel Fusion is an advanced feature that merges data streams from multiple cameras and lasers in relation to each image pixel. Fusing sensor data at pixel level maximizes the contrast between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (as defined by the user), which enables the sorter to recognize and remove more subtle product defects and previously difficult-to-detect FM.

Next-generation cameras and laser sensors offer twice the resolution capability of previous generation sorters to detect and remove sub-millimeter size defects and FM. With up to four channels of information from cameras and up to eight channels of information from the laser scanner, combined with advanced LED lighting that operates at the optimal frequencies in relation to each sensor, Key customizes every VERYX sorter to perfectly match each customer’s sort requirements, from basic to complex.

The new VERYX product separation/ejection system is also tailored to each application, with the distance between nozzles and the power of the valves varying for optimal management of the sort streams. This precision ejection system, together with software-driven intelligent algorithms and specialized product handling systems, nearly eliminates false rejects to increase process yields.

Leveraging richer product information and Key’s powerful new data processing architecture and intelligent software, VERYX can make new and more robust sorting decisions while easing use. Its data processing capacity enables VERYX to easily handle spikes in incoming defect loads while maintaining final product quality and low false reject rates.

Smart features such as auto-learning, self-adjustment algorithms, predictive system diagnostics, smart alarms, FMAlert and Sort-to-Grade enable VERYX to operate virtually unattended during normal production. Operator qualification requirements are reduced, making it much faster and easier for a new operator to become a proficient user of the equipment.

To further ease use and simplify training, Key collaborated with ergonomic experts to develop a new intuitive user interface (UI), shared by all VERYX sorters, which can provide different views to users of various levels, depending on their needs.

The streamlined UI enables the sorter to run a new product or grade at the touch of a button.

VERYX features Key’s Information Analytics, a set of data acquisition and connectivity capabilities that allow users to gather a broad range of product and operational data from the sorter. The data can be made available flexibly for off-line analysis or connected to a customer’s SCADA or Manufacturing Execution System.

VERYX sorters leverage Key’s specialized product handling solutions to optimally convey and control each object through the sort process. Improved stabilization of the product creates a more consistent trajectory through the inspection and ejection zones, which ensures accuracy in sorting out every piece of FM and defective product, while avoiding the inadvertent removal of good product in the process.

Designed to minimize sanitation requirements and simplify maintenance, VERYX reduces downtime and the customer’s total cost of ownership.

For more information on Key’s VERYX, visit www.theKeyStandard.com.

SCADA/HMI Platform from Progea

The Movicon NExT 3.0 is an open and scalable SCADA/HMI platform that features recipe management enhancement to include remote activation in modern automation software applications.

This platform features iOS and Android apps for web client access using smartphones and tablets, advanced report designer and a function block diagram feature.

NExT is structured on modular concepts with plug-in technology to make industrial software architecture more open and scalable by integrating function modules that are capable of efficiently connecting and managing any business enterprise.

For more information, visit www.progea.com.