Application advantages of motion control technology in printing/labeling

Now, it is through the use of electronic gears coupled together by the controller that fundamentally eliminates mechanical dependencies. In the labeling industry, it can be seen that open-loop stepper motors and actuators are gradually being replaced by closed-loop position servo drives and motors, thereby eliminating possible step losses or positional inaccuracies in stepper motors. With the development of electronic gear and servo technology, as a system, the entire motion control platform has been greatly improved.

Today's motion control systems provide packaging machine manufacturers with many features and improvements. Now, through the combination of controller, servo driver and motor, it can provide a more stable system, make the machine performance better in terms of accuracy, speed, etc., higher output per unit time, longer usable time, shorter manufacturing time, required Less maintenance, easier troubleshooting.

Digital networks are an integral part of the system and are common on many current controllers. Compared with the analog command interface driven by traditional controllers, these digital networks are usually Ethernet based on communication protocols. They are used for deterministic data exchange between controllers and servo drives, and operate synchronously at microsecond speeds to implement drivers. Real-time access to I/O and driver parameters. Be aware that these I/Os and parameters are changing rapidly while the machine is running. Because the number of interface cables is reduced and the plug-and-play network is actually a standard Ethernet CAT5E shielded cable, its noise immunity is better than that of an analog system. This feature also facilitates the placement of the drive in the most suitable location around the machine, as well as the modularity of the machine, and allows the manufacturer to add options to the basic machine with virtually no interface problems. In short, digital networks have great advantages over analog networks.

The printing press and the labeling machine are very similar. There are several material unwinding stations and one or two winding stations. Materials such as paper or plastic are unwound from the drum and distributed to the machine, or they are taken up from the machine and rolled up onto the drum. The diameter of the drum is continuously increased or decreased. As the diameter changes, the drum inertia also changes, and the inertia fluctuations produce different servo loop adjustment values ​​at different diameters to prevent loop instability. In a simulation system, it may not be possible to change this parameter while the machine is running. But in digital network systems, these values ​​can be accessed and changed by the controller to control dynamically changing machines in real time.

Because of the need to have digital communication capabilities with the controller, the drive must also be as intelligent as the controller. Many drives are now manufactured using DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology and are superior to older drive technologies in terms of speed and processing capability. Most of today's servo drives also have built-in safety circuits, so the drives and controllers can be easily integrated into the machine's safety logic system.

Although the base of the servo motor is small, the output torque is not small, and the direct drive motor can be directly connected to a load such as a printing cylinder, eliminating the need for gearboxes and other mechanical mechanisms required by conventional pulley systems. As the entire control system enables the machine's production capacity to be increased, the corresponding non-motion operations are also required to be correspondingly improved, such as other devices connected to the machine, as well as workshops or corporate activities and management where the machine is located.

To this end, Ethernet TCPIP communication is embedded in many control systems to integrate the device into control systems such as I/O, vision systems, RFID readers, bar code scanners, and robots, and with other control platforms, PCs , OPC clients, SCADA systems exchange data.

For designers, this system approach is a welcome improvement. Since motion control suppliers generally provide a comprehensive product line, design engineers can now rely on a single manufacturer to design machines without having to select many different suppliers. Each supplier is responsible for a part of the design, and then spend a lot of time and effort. Put all the pieces together. Design engineers can focus on design issues without worrying about solving any interface problems. This also reduces the number of suppliers and repeat orders. The advantages of this are obvious - in the machine assembly shop, components can be connected seamlessly. As the machine is easy to debug and troubleshoot, it also improves the technical service level accordingly.

Therefore, the motion control system is your best choice.