Industry 4.0 in action

At Drinktec 2017 (September 11-15, München), Netstal will produce 38 mm single-piece closures for milk bottles on an Elion 2200-1000. The HDPE closures, which weigh just 2.8 grams, will be produced in a 32 cavity mould from z-moulds and, thanks to the patented z-slides, they will receive a fully-functioning tamper evident band in the mould. The cycle time will be 4.0 seconds. Piovan will provide the systems for the drying of the material and dehumidification. The water cooling will be made available by EF Cooling. The PET granulate and the color master batches will be supplied by Total Polymers. The CapWatcher III from Intravis is used for the optical inspection that concludes the process.

Together with Intravis, Netstal will, for the first time, present the integration of external peripheral data into the aXos machine controller. The most important product characteristics of the 38 mm closures that will be produced live at the trade fair stand will be constantly analyzed by the Intravis CapWatcher III. They will then be transmitted via Euromap 82/OPC-UA to the machine controller of the Elion 2200-1000 in the form of data packages and displayed immediately in the aXos machine controller. If needed, individual characteristics, such as the diameter of the closures, can also be displayed on the individually configurable dashboard, which allows machine operators to always keep an eye on them. That means corrective measures can be taken quickly. If implemented according to Industry 4.0, the operator will no longer have to actively take action since the injection moulding machine in a control circuit can self-regulate. Minimal changes to a product characteristic can be performed automatically within a defined process window. This allows for the sustained production of closures with the exactly defined product characteristic.