Tubes have been used in the packaging of liquids with high or low viscosity, making the handling of such liquids easier in transport and dispensing. The manufacturing units for tube production and decoration are usually different from the manufacturing unit for filling and sealing. This creates a demand for a safe, dust-free and hygienic transport of tubes from one location to another. Such industries demand uncontaminated packaging or preventing entry of dust in tube manufacturing and transport. Technoshell Automations provides solutions to tube manufacturing units for their various needs, such as tube capping, labeling, hot foil stamping and packaging. Technoshell Automation is a recognized name in building complex multi-axis machines for various such applications. To achieve the desired accuracy and precision in such highly complex machines, they trust the most innovative, technologically advanced solutions from B&R.
Technoshell Automations is a 28-year-old company based in Nasik offering complete solutions to its divergent customers for their printing and packaging needs. “Today with our global standards engineering capability to manufacture high-quality workhorse machines, we offer solutions to meet various decorative printing and packaging needs of our customers,” says Nikhil Baste, director, Technoshell. “Our machines are aesthetically designed keeping customers’ needs in mind, with stress on quality, productivity, and affordability.” With in-house design, machining, software development capabilities coupled with state-of-the-art production capacity backed by hi-tech machines and the latest technology, they are experts and leaders in their business and offerings.
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Robots for hygienic packing
Over the past few years, packaging lines have seen an exponential increase in the use of robots. Some applications have arisen out of the need for avoiding tedious repetitive work for humans, whereas some have arisen out of the need for avoiding contamination. “Use of robots in our tube packers help avoid tube contamination via human touch and entry of dust during transportation. It helps us cater to the demands of our customers and help them comply with the stringent hygienic standards and needs of their customers,” says Baste.
Usually, the location of tube manufacturing differs from the location of filling and sealing. This gives rise to the need for safe and uncontaminated packaging while packing tubes in cartons for dispatch and during transportation. However, human intervention could lead to contamination. “We addressed this issue by introducing a robot in our packer unit. This not only speeds up the process of packing but also keeps it hygienic and contamination-free,” says Baste.
A conveyor run by a servo feeds the packer robot. The servo provides the feed quantity to the robot for picking and placing the tubes in the carton. Occasionally, the round tubes stacked vertically need an even and odd count for cartoning, which is handled by the feeder servo. A 6-axis robot is used to pick and place the tubes in cartons. The synchronization of servos, VFDs and robots enabled the accuracy in packing.
mapp Technology reducing development time
Customers demand new products and today the rate of new product launches in any industry is very high. “To cater to such changing demands, it becomes a challenge for machine builders,” explains Baste. “Thanks to B&R, our design team can handle such requests easily and be ready for any change without us spending time on customer site. Thanks to mapp Technology from B&R, we are able to efficiently and effectively meet the customer demands and achieve a faster time to market.”
The tube packers from Technoshell Automations utilize the technologically advanced and powerful hardware and software from B&R. A Panel PC, which acts as an integrated display unit and PC, controls the entire machine. This is coupled with remote X20 I/Os, ACOPOS servo and VFD over a real-time Ethernet POWERLINK network. Besides, a robot is also interfaced with the Panel PC. Technoshell has utilized mapp Technology in all aspects for developing the machine, with mapp View being an important aspect of this machine. Technoshell has used mapp Technology in other machines and is well aware of its features and benefits. Configuring more and programming less drastically reduced the machine development time and mapp View provided a different dimension to the display.
mapp View – web meets automation
Duplicating a display on a tablet or a phone was previously unthinkable on a shop floor. With mapp View, B&R now offers direct access to the wide world of web technology right from the engineering environment. For the first time, automation engineers have all the tools they need to create powerful and intuitive HMI solutions. mapp View is built on the globally accepted web standards HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. Unlike proprietary platforms, these standards are updated continually and remain usable for decades – ensuring maximum return on investment. mapp View relies 100% on web standards to ensure content can be viewed optimally on any output device or even customized for specific users or user groups.
“Operators on the shop floor do not have to depend on a single display unit mounted at a fixed location. They have the freedom to walk around the machine and have the same display on their tablets and smartphones. This gives us a lot of flexibility and high performance,” says Baste. “mapp View reduces development time and ensures maximum reusability, making it the ideal solution for our modular and flexible machine designs,” he adds.
Integrated architecture
“We have been using B&R for around 10 years and we have thoroughly appreciated their integrated approach several times,” says Nikhil Baste. “In all our machines we have effectively used Ethernet POWERLINK as the vendor-independent networking protocol. It helps us to choose from a list of vendors for various components and yet be able to program, commission and diagnose them in Automation Studio.”
The use of ACOPOS drastically reduced the footprint in cabinets by around 69%. Ethernet POWERLINK network helps in running a single Ethernet cable across the panel to Panel PC. This reduces cabling effort and improves maintenance. All the systems are tightly linked together with Automation Studio, the single programming tool for all B&R hardware.
Collaborating for next-generation technologies
Today, factories demand machine builders provide machines that are ready for Industrial IoT. Technoshell Automations have been providing their customers with various features for many years including remote diagnostics and maintenance, integrated and connected machines, usage of open source technologies, scalable and flexible machines and much more. “We build machines, which satisfy various complex demands of printing and packaging industry. Our focus has always been on technology and providing next-generation machines to our customers,” says Baste. “With B&R technology and solutions coupled with our industry expertise, we have consistently and successfully provided such advanced solutions to our customers.”
– Ninad Deshpande
Head – Marketing and Corporate Communications
B&R Industrial Automation