A few years ago, in most industrialized countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan, the operating system of packaging machinery has undergone a major change, from the traditional relay mechanical control method to the new electronic control method of programmable logic controller (PLC). Recently, it is worth noting that this evolution has opened up a new way for computer technology to be widely used in packaging machinery and equipment—the Graphical Display Operator Interface.
The application of graphical display interface is a “win-win†technological reform for both the packaging machinery manufacturing industry and the final equipment user, which can improve the productivity of packaging machinery and improve the processing quality, while helping to reduce costs. For example, the graphical display operator interface allows the operator to observe the ongoing product packaging process on the display screen, and when found to have problems, the operator can perform the necessary on-line adjustments, and The “conversation†function on the operator interface also helps the operator to determine where the problem occurred and what measures are taken to correct it.
Today, packaging machinery suppliers are providing fast and more efficient packaging equipment at low cost, in accordance with user requirements in fierce competition. In order to meet the requirements of improving packaging productivity, reducing downtime and simple operation mode, it is necessary to ensure a highly advanced control program. Therefore, by combining the PLC with the graphic display operation interface, the program can be effectively realized. This new technology enables packaging equipment manufacturers to provide more advanced mechanical functionality, such as ease of maintenance, easy repair and diagnostics. If advanced diagnostic techniques are combined with more complete information in on-site processing, it helps operators avoid potential so-called “bottlenecks†or product damage during production, often resulting in excessive scrap or accidental parking. The loss will be very amazing.
Many foreign packaging machinery manufacturing companies will adopt a planning procedure in the innovation plan, including the transformation of mechanical equipment to PLC electronic control on the one hand, and the rational selection of graphical display operation interface on the other hand, thus implementing a new packaging machinery. Application strategy of regulation methods. In the process of transforming the practical strategy of packaging machinery, they generally use the following main steps.
First, turn to electronic control
This is the first step to realize the new technology of graphic display of packaging machinery and equipment. It is the basic condition for the packaging equipment manufacturing enterprise to start the transformation of this new technology, the most important of which is the replacement of electrical components. In most packaging machinery manufacturers in the United States, after the early 1990s, PLCs were used to equip their servo-drive packaging machines and packaging product molding machines, or to replace the original machines with various PLC devices. Dedicated electrical machinery controller. In this way, the use of mechanical components can be reduced as much as possible, and the packaging machinery and equipment can be more easily repaired, ensuring stable and consistent quality, simple operation and shortened maintenance.
Second, the evaluation operation package
After completing the conversion of the electrical machinery control unit, the corporate department then needs to purchase the software package that best suits the work target. At this point, the company will go out for the first time to evaluate the functions and features of the various software, and also judge the integrity of the software vendor. Because many factories do not use a single type of machinery, but a variety of high, medium and low-end automatic packaging machines and product forming machines to meet the specified cost and performance requirements. Therefore, the corporate sector generally believes that an operator interface software vendor needs to be selected, and then the operator interface can be standardized on each production line. The benefits of a standardized operator interface will allow the operator to learn only one control program when using a different set of machines.
Third, choose the operator interface
Through analysis and comparison, it is recognized that a standard operator interface that is flexible enough to meet user requirements is most needed. Many US packaging machinery manufacturing companies finally chose the Interact package. These packages basically meet the performance requirements and user requirements in the above evaluation form, and the cost is far lower than the price of the default software package in the evaluation form, especially the interaction software can provide very fast and flexible application performance. Real-time response performance. In addition, the modular structure of the software package enables the user to pay for only the portion of the software that is required for the function at the time of purchase. This one is quite important because it allows the machine manufacturer to customize the design characteristics of each packaging machine, thus keeping costs to a minimum.
This professional operator interface system enables the size of the interface system to be reduced when equipped with various types of PLC equipment, and eliminates the need for temperature controllers, etc. These improvements result in more space on each packaging machinery control panel. It provides a more flexible option when installing other devices.
Fourth, promote the operator interface
In this step, the packaging machinery manufacturing company should plan in time to consider how to develop a wide range of applications for the operator interface. Among them, the following items need to be carefully considered.
1. The company's existing processing equipment has often formed a good reputation in the industry, but it still needs continuous improvement for machine products. Although the company has realized the widespread use of graphical display operator interfaces, it is beneficial to see some of these deficiencies.
2. It is essential to maintain consistent coherence throughout the entire production line of packaging machines and molding machines equipped with such operator interface systems.
3. Under the current working environment conditions, it is a general requirement to consider the miniaturization of equipment, and shortening the training time and reducing maintenance costs is a priority.
4. If the manufacturing company's products are sold to the international market, then text translation, operational adaptability and skill level requirements are important items. When these companies show that these problems have been considered mature, they also create good conditions for this interface system to be extended to other types of machines in the future.
Fifth, the specification of the interface application
In order to ensure that the working methods and operational skills can be quickly determined in a wide range of applications, a “standards committee†can be formed by the technical standards personnel of the packaging machinery manufacturing company, the factory production personnel, the research and development personnel, the sales and processing personnel.
The Standards Committee first establishes an operator interface on a production line that can be used, and then develops a standardized work plan, which shows how the screens of these operating interfaces are displayed, and how each screen contains each item. of. For example, a single boot screen may be standard for each machine and contain relevant guidance instructions for safe operation. So when switching to any machine during the operation, the user does not need to understand the difference between these machines at first.
Sixth, the development of application projects
In developing an application project, consider how to determine the position and size of the display screen and buttons. In addition, each screen has a set of menu buttons at the bottom to help the user easily access the application, and each screen includes information indicating the availability of each button. The use of graphical symbols allows mechanical equipment manufacturers to maintain standard application projects that are familiar to foreign users and can be easily converted.
In terms of performance, the graphic display method is more intuitive and effective than the original two-line display method. The graphical display operator interface provides a clearer picture and adds color, pattern and sound to the presentation of information, which is a viable scope for expanding the application. For example, a large screen with an indicator light that turns red or with an audible alarm will be more likely to get the operator's attention. In addition, the interface software system greatly improves diagnostic capabilities. Once the error message occurs, the warning signal will appear on the screen, indicating the cause and location of the fault and suggesting a solution to the fault, which will greatly shorten the repair time, and the operator can quickly return to the production line after the troubleshooting. On the post.
Seven, the application of the project test
Before the formal implementation of the new operator interface, the packaging equipment manufacturer should perform rigorous internal tests on the prototype equipment. After completing this initial test, the application can be tested on different devices in the field. Therefore, it can be assumed that the user's experiment with the operator interface of his application is completely under the real manufacturing environment. After a period of testing and evaluation, the pilot plant can report the results to the equipment manufacturing company and explain how they can be more responsive to the user's needs, and then pass the inspection and approval. These recommendations can be adopted in the final application. However, after the improvement project is completed and the interface system is installed on the machine, the development work of the application is not over yet. In order to better meet the changing conditions of user needs, continuous improvement and maintenance are still needed. Fortunately, as long as the package-based operator interface described here is applied, improvements can be implemented immediately without unnecessary downtime.