The new and the virtuous in automation

At Plast 2015 B&R presents all the solutions dedicated to the automation of machines for plastics processing, along with important innovations that allow a great leap forward in terms of efficiency, function and performance for machine manufacturers. In the Plast fairground numerous OEMs will be present, well known references in this industry who have chosen B&R solutions for their new machines (injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, thermoforming etc).

“The widespread presence of B&R inside the machines presented at Plast is a clear symptom of the great trust that we’ve gained among the OEMs in the plastics industry. Rather than just a supplier of automation, the machine manufacturers consider us an innovative technology partner, very attentive to their needs", says Nicoletta Ghironi, marketing and communication manager at B&R.

B&R will be presenting its revolutionary new mapp technology. These modular software blocks simplify the development of new programs and reduce the development time for new machines and systems by an average of 67%. At the same time, mapp reduces overall service and maintenance expenditures. When it comes to engineering new machines and systems, software development is becoming an increasingly significant time and cost factor. Nevertheless, the lion's share of this work is spent on programming basic functions like loading recipe data. mapp eliminates these recurring programming tasks for developers by providing preconfigured blocks that are easy to use and already extensively tested. Programmers can then concentrate on their main task: implementing machine or system processes in the application software. mapp blocks are seamlessly integrated into B&R's automation software landscape. This means that any developer who works with Automation Studio can implement mapp blocks to make their work easier and their application software clearer. The end results speak for themselves: increased machine availability, lower maintenance costs and much easier team collaboration.

To face the demand for higher productivity and machine availability, together with reduced footprint - as well as cost - B&R replies with Acopos P3, the new generation of servo drives designed to control 1, 2 or 3 axes, providing a power density of 4 A per litre, making it one of the devices with integrated safety functions more efficient on the market. Since the housing of the three axes is as compact as a conventional single-axis drive, you can reduce the amount of space required in the control cabinet by an amazing 69%. The cycle time of 50 ms for current, speed and position control, opens new opportunities in motion control, making it possible dynamics higher than ever, combined with great precision. In the plastics industry, Acopos P3 is the ideal solution for many applications, including the control of the three motors of the classic 3-axis Cartesian robots used for servo presses.

Into the B&R booth another key product for the plastics machines will be displayed: the cHMI, operator panels completely customized according to customer specifications. B&R is able, starting from the wide range of power panel, industrial PCs and Panel PC standards, to design devices with a degree of customization from simple customization of the front mylar until the creation of a fully tailored terminal made upon the customer specifications also for the electrical, mechanical and electromechanical point of view.