A t K 2004 it was evident that the evolution of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is keeping pace with the

speed of the latest chips. A worldwide web of press monitoring and control has

arrived for global molders. Internet-friendly controllers wereeverywhere in Düsseldorf. Even molders with their plants aquick commute away can analyze how things are running backat the shop on their home PC—even on their mobile phone.

Of equal importance are improvements in controller ease of

use. Graphics-rich touch-screen GUIs are creating a new, globallanguage of symbols that press technicians can use intuitively.

“Integrated” has become the key word in CIM. Asmanufacturing cells become more complex, suppliers areadding capabilities to monitor and control the press and all ofits cell auxiliaries into a single controller at the same pace. Andone in particular, Moldflow, has taken the next step—integrating everything, from art to part, into a single-sourceds y s t e m . —Carl Kirkland and Robert Neilley

A r b u r gw w w . a r b u r g . c o m

Chen Hsongw w w . c h e n h s o n g . c o m . h k

Demag Plastics Groupw w w . d p g . c o m

E n g e lw w w . e n g e l m a c h i n e r y . c o m / c a n /

F a n u cw w w . m m t e . d e

H u s k yw w w . h u s k y . c a

I n t e l l i m o l dw w w . i n t e l l i m o l d . c o m

K i s t l e rw w w . k i s t l e r . c o m

Arburg’s keyboard-free Selogica Direct control system features a 15-inch touch screen that always displays avisual path to individual parameter pages for quick and easy access. Preassigned direct access fields speedprocess optimization. Available as an option on Arburg Allrounders, the Selogica Direct also uses more graphicelements than standard Selogicas.

I-Chen is the Chen Hsong Group’s new real-time computerized production monitoring and managementsystem that can integrate into ERP systems. Users can view more than 100 parameters of 100 or more ChenHsong machines at a time, all through an Ethernet interface. Web-based reporting is another feature.

Internet-friendly, multiported, user-configurable, powerful, Windows-free, 800-mHz, real-time industrial PC—theseare just hints of what Demag’s newest machine controller, the NC5, is all about. It features a 15-inch touch screenthat can be switched off if users prefer using buttons, for instance. It eventually will be Demag’s global standard.

Engel introduced the world to its latest controller, the CC 200, which features an easy-to-use, graphics-richtouch-screen interface and laptop-compatible PC-like control elements. It uses IEC programming language formachine control and Java visualization. It’s powerful enough to control robots and other auxiliaries, multiported,and Internet-friendly.

Mold 24 I, Fanuc’s MIS/QC system, is now available in Europe through Mitsui Machine Tool Europe. It canevaluate resin characteristics, record molding conditions and histories, and is ISO 9000-compliant. It has“quality radar,” which analyzes data for up to 1.2 million shots and spots any lot-to-lot glitches and part defects.

SmartLink, Husky’s new, scalable plantwide monitoring system, uses Matrikon industrial automation software tointegrate with Husky’s Polaris controllers and deliver real-time, Web-enabled process and efficiency metrics forthe entire plant. E-mail/paging notes provide immediate alerts. Remote Web-enabled servicing also is provided.

Milko Guergov, MGV Enterprises LLC (Ann Arbor, MI), told I M M at K that he has purchased all the rights to hisIntellimold closed loop process control system back from his former employer, Collins & Aikman. He’s improvedit. How? There’s not enough space here. Meanwhile, Google “soft sensor” for a hint.

A four-cavity mold equipped with Kistler’spressure/temperature sensors and cavitymeasurement systems plugged into its Dataflowmonitor ran plug panels in a Demag IntElect all-electric. And an Engel Victory with Kistler’sSmartAmp cooling time measurement systemoptimized the removal time of thick-walled PAnutcrackers run in an Engel Victory.

Baseplate-mounted and equippedwith single-wire technology, Type6155AE sensor-in-adapter productsfrom Kistler are designed so thatinserts can be changed withoutremoving the sensors. Faster mold inspection,reduced maintenance costs, and the elimination ofsensor cable damage are reported benefits.

CONTROLS

Fanuc’s Mold 24 I system can store datanecessary to maintain resin QC, includingflow coefficients and molding temperatures.

PPT’s Mike Durina (left) discusses hisnext-generation front-end componentswith Milko Guergov, inventor of next-genIntellimold controllers.

Moldflow’s Celltrak 2.0 nowcan monitor manual tasks, aswell as machines.

You can setup Engel’s

p o w e r f u lCC 200

c o n t r o l l e rfrom your

l a p t o p .

Demag’s NC5 machinecontroller is designed to showusers just what they need whenthey need it.

An integralpart of the

Priamus Fill,Priamus Coolkeeps cavity

s u r f a c et e m p e r a t u r e s

u n d e rc o n t r o l .

Arburg’s SelogicaDirect features a

graphics-rich touch-screen interface.

M i rw w w . m i r p r e s s e . c o m

M o l d f l o ww w w . m o l d f l o w . c o m

N e t s t a lw w w . n e t s t a l . c o m

N i s s e iw w w . n i s s e i j u s h i . c o . j p

P r i a m u sw w w . p r i a m u s . c o m

S i e m e n sw w w . s i e m e n s . c o m / p l a s t i c s

New 6177AE and 6178AE sensors with four times higherresolution than standard and with a measurement range of up to2902 psi have been introduced by Kistler for low-pressure moldingjobs. They fit in existing molds and are compatible with standardcables and charge amplifiers.

Every machine in the Mir stand was equipped with the latestversion of its Tomicon touch-screen controls, which are availableas PC-based or PLC. Designed also to work with networks, theTomicon takes full advantage of Mir’s Atomic CANbus-basedarchitecture for fast signaling on the machine and easy linking withvirtually any network, including remote diagnostics and monitoring.

Celltrak 2.0 is a real-time, multilingual production management system that tracks and reports on machineefficiencies, providing capabilities for work order management, job scheduling, and mold/machine tracking andlabeling. It now can also schedule, manage, and monitor manual tasks. It was demonstrated using a wirelesstablet PC.

Shotscope Process Monitoring can acquire data from 36 analog, digital, and single-point input channels to helpoptimize plant capacity and minimize waste. A new hybrid display shows velocity and pressure as a function ofposition with a switchover to a time-based display in midcycle.

Moldflow’s new Shotscope FX portable analyzer can be moved between machines for setup assistance,troubleshooting, capability studies, and part quality checks. It’s also expandable into plantwide monitoring.

Moldflow Plastics Xpert 3.2 automates process window setup, optimization, and monitoring using advancedsimulation capabilities. Interfaced with molding machine controllers, it can provide online process correction.

Closed loop control of individual axes is provided by the DSP controller for Netstal’s new all-electric Elion press.Though it resembles the operator interface for Netstal’s hydraulic SynErgy machines, the Elion’s has a familiarWindows OS. It has a high-resolution, 15-inch color display, a fold-down keyboard, and it conveniently swivels.

Nissei has standardized on its TACT man-machine control interface. It features a 100-µsec scan time and a12.1-inch color LCD. TACT speaks six languages, standard. Compact flash and LAN ports are included, but itcan memorize up to 300 molding conditions on its own.

PQ Manager is Nissei’s latest quality/production monitoring and control system. It can run on a laptop andgather info from up to 30 machines. And it gathers information not only from older Nissei presses, but also frommachines made by other OEMs.

EDaq control centers monitor up to 64 cavity-pressure, cavity-temperature, and machine signals on any moldingsystem in real time and can transmit data via a standard Ethernet interface to a PC. They simultaneously combinemonitoring functionalities. Digital output signals provide real-time control over valves, even in sequential molding.

Cavity temperatures are measured, analyzed, and adjusted by the Priamus Cool closed loop control system, anessential part of Priamus Fill, which controls fill properties, switchover, and temperature distribution. Priamus Heat,for elastomers and thermosets, optimizes and controls set heating zone values to improve part quality.

The closed-loop Priamus Fill control system has been upgraded to control melt flow in sequential moldingapplications based on cavity temperature sensing. Nozzles open when sensors detect a temperature increasenear gates based on values set in the hot runner controller. Temperature sensors near the end of fill switch to hold.

Using an embedded Priamus eDaq control system and easy-to-use software, a portable data acquisition systemfor 16 charge, temperature, or voltage signals called MoMo transmits measurement values via a high-speedEthernet data acquisition system to your laptop. No additional analog/digital or alarm signal boards are required.

Siject 16iP, Siemens modular machine control system, has been integrated with Moldflow’s Plastics Xpert (MPX)and Shotscope, which automates setup and also optimizes and monitors the process window. All can becombined on a single retrofittable GUI, including Siemens’ Simatic Panel PC 670, a 15-inch color touch screen. a

Digital closed loop control overall axes of motion is providedby Netstal’s Elion controller.

Tomicon touch-screencontrols and Mir’s AtomicCANbus architecturesimplify networking andremote access.

K 2004: C O N T R O L S