Machine builder Hero
Decentralized drive technology in practice
A good example of a successful 'slimming cure' is the Swabian machine manufacturer Hero, which has streamlined its slitting and winding machines with decentralized servo drive technology. The motto: do without everything that is not really necessary.
The decentralized drives are positioned directly on the winding and positioning process at machine manufacturer Hero.
© SienkCarbon or basalt fiber belts are typical products that Hero's machines process. The central task is to slit 'mother rolls' with an initial web width of 30 centimetres lengthwise. To do this, the material is unwound, fed through a slitter and then wound up again. The result is individual rolls with a width of between three and 15 millimeters. These tapes are used in aircraft construction, for example. Whether carbon or mineral: in both cases, the further processing of the fiber tapes requires a sure instinct for the torques. Another area of application is metal foils with a thickness of just a few hundredths of a millimeter. If the tension is too high or uneven, so-called ruffles quickly form on the edges of the tapes, which are only a few millimetres wide. These indicate that the material has been overstretched beyond its elastic range. Because the whole thing is no longer reversible, this event can therefore be attributed to production waste.
As a result, extremely sensitive web tension control is an absolute must with the Hero solution. Depending on the material width, values between 5 and 1.2 N are used. The whole thing is realized with a synchronous connection of all servo axes and a slightly leading speed setpoint, which the rewinder motors do not reach - resulting in the desired torque and tension weights between 120 and 500 g. The specific force is defined in the product recipe.
Unwinding, web edge control, knife drives, rewinders on several automatically adjustable levels: The new machines from the Swabians have more than 30 servo axes. "The power consumption per axis is low, except for the two knife drives with a few 100 watts, but the demands on speed accuracy are all the higher," explains Uwe Gfrörer, Head of Control Technology. Many axes, little power: these are ideal operating conditions for decentralized servo drives - as an integrated mechatronic solution consisting of servo motor and inverter. Specifically, the Swabians use the ihXT series from AMK.
The AMK solution scored particularly well with Hero thanks to its connection technology with a single hybrid cable - combined with convenient loop-through options. "If I imagine coming out of the control cabinet with thirty cables, whereas today we have to deal with just two, then it quickly becomes clear where the advantages lie," emphasizes Hero Managing Director Richard Balzer.
Hero also uses the advantages of a coordinated system for the control technology. The AMKamac control unit is used as the 'head' of the whole system - as an integrated version with a robust touch panel, which is available up to protection class IP69K. As a classic PLC, the control unit takes over the complete sequence control and visualization on the one hand and also works as motion control for the winding and positioning drives in their synchronized multi-axis network on the other. The whole thing is programmed with Codesys.
In summary, the combination of decentralized servo technology, central DC power supply, Ethercat communication and control intelligence with visualization ensures that the machine makes an extremely tidy visual impression - in fact, only a small housing is required for the two central power supply units and the I/O system. However, the machine manufacturer is not completely dispensing with the use of the previous control cabinets - and for Swabian reasons: According to Richard Balzer, it is easier and cheaper to combine standard enclosures with one another to form a machine frame than to individually manufacture a steel frame each time. As a result, the system offers plenty of space behind the closed doors, which operating companies can use freely.
Author:
Thorsten Sienk is a freelance trade journalist from Bodenwerder.
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