The Premio Innovazione award has confirmed that Tetra Pak’s Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper has achieved a machine solution that pushes the boundaries of conventional packaging lines. The decisive factor for the three- to four-fold improvement in performance is a completely redesigned drive concept, away from the classic drive train and towards a highly dynamic mechatronic solution based on XTS technology from Beckhoff.
At the heart of the solution are two parallel XTS tracks, each 4,5 m long and with 55 individually controllable permanent magnet carriages. These freely programmable movers allow independent, precise positioning along a continuous path so that each individual cap can be aligned and applied in real time and with an accuracy of a tenth of a millimetre. The natural differences between the cardboard containers can thus be reliably compensated.
XTS replaces mechanical components in the machine with software logic, increases the degree of digitalisation and data transparency, enables condition monitoring, and improves quality assurance. This mechatronic solution uses EtherCAT-based communication and is configured via TwinCAT which allows seamless integration into the machine’s other automation and drive technology. One XTS-based line can handle three conventional systems which allows users to significantly reduce the space needed and construction costs. Reliability and availability are also simultaneously increased. Product changes and format conversions are largely carried out by software.
This award, presented at the Italian innovation forum SMAU, attests to its high practical relevance. The Premio Innovazione label honours projects that have been nominated by users as best practice. The fact that Tetra Pak’s Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper and its XTS mechatronics solution are already being used by large, global F&B; companies underlines its industrial maturity and potential for further automation and digitalisation functions.
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