Machines and complete systems for crushing, screening, wet processing, thermal processing, sorting, packing and palletizing bulk materials of all kinds are the specialty of the traditional company Binder+Co. Its roots go back to 1894, when Ludwig Binder founded a building and metalworking shop.

In 1989, Binder+Co launched its first recycling system for sorting used glass. This was followed almost ten years later by the Clarity, the world's first machine for optical sorting. Today, hundreds of these sensor-supported systems for processing transparent and non-transparent bulk materials can be found around the globe. A three-way sorting system combines modern camera, lighting and sensor technologies with pneumatic valves for material discharge developed in-house. 16 million colors can be detected as well as metal and other foreign substances.

Thanks to the high packing density of the control and I/O system, significantly more valves can be installed without having to enlarge the control cabinet. There is space for up to 20 channels on a width of 12.5 mm, a height of 104 mm and a depth of 72 mm.

© Binder+Co

Depending on the customer-specific configuration, up to 896 valves are installed in the new Clarity generation. "Our general aim is to build the machines to be as space-saving as possible," explains Karl Leitner. "That's why we have been developing our own fast-switching pneumatic valves for many years, which - like the entire machine - are particularly compact and also enable very high flow rates." In the past, the technicians at Binder+Co used individual control boards, also developed in-house, for the electrical control of the valves. "However, the new machine concept made it necessary to make the valve control system more space-saving. We were therefore looking for an alternative - in terms of both size and technology - because fine grain sorting requires more valves and even faster switching processes than the previous generation," says Karl Leitner, explaining the need for a new control system.

The Salzburg-based automation manufacturer Sigmatek finally came up with the right solution for Binder+Co's very specific requirements in the form of the S-Dias I/O series. It quickly became clear that the high packing density of the modular system - up to 20 inputs per module with a width of 12.5 mm, a height of 104 mm and a depth of 72 mm - would make it possible to achieve the set goal of installing significantly more valves without having to enlarge the control cabinet. The particular challenge in this project, however, was on the control technology side. In addition to fast, precise valve control in real time, a structure-borne sound measurement was to be implemented for maintenance support, which would allow conclusions to be drawn about the wear of the individual valves - in short: condition monitoring.

Suitable function modules developed

The PW 161 module: Using pulse width modulation, the 16 digital outputs switch inductive loads up to 0.5 A - ideal for valve control.

© Sigmatek

For the valve control, Sigmatek developed the 'PW 161' module in collaboration with the Binder+Co technicians - PW stands for pulse width modulation, 16 for the number of digital outputs. The 16 channels switch inductive loads up to 0.5 A and are divided into two supply groups (eight channels each). A current measurement function is implemented for each supply group to determine the load characteristics. "In this specific case, the module uses pulse width modulation to switch the valves precisely in time. The base cycle is less than 1 ms and can be divided into 200 µs switching cycles. This means that switching can be delayed during a cycle, even in the final phase of a cycle," says Andreas Rath, the Sigmatek sales engineer responsible, explaining how the module works and continues: "The integrated fast switch-off electronics control the inductive loads precisely. In addition, short-circuit, overcurrent and overtemperature monitoring ensures safe operation." And Karl Leitner adds: "When designing this module, great attention was paid to ensuring that it can be used as universally as possible for several valve types and different voltages. This goal was achieved - the supply voltage of the coils can be up to 48 V DC."

The second module developed specifically for this application is called 'AI 040' - an analog input module with four IEPE interfaces. Each channel has a constant current source for the sensor supply and the respective current intensity can be set separately. The measuring range is between 31 mHz and 20 kHz, with a resolution of 16 bits. Vibration sensors with an IEPE interface measure the vibrations that occur in the Clarity system when the valves are switched on or off. Andreas Rath explains: "The measuring module makes it possible to record vibrations and thus draw conclusions about the mechanical wear of the valves - in other words, to carry out predictive maintenance. Defective valves are thus detected fully automatically. There is a lot of mathematics involved, which is processed by the module. For example, interference signals that do not originate from the valve must be reliably suppressed using special filter mechanisms."

The sampling rate is a maximum of 50 kSPS (kilo sampels per second) per channel, the time offset between the channels is 5 µs. Short-circuit and cable break monitoring are also possible. The measuring accuracy is ±0.5 % of the maximum measured value. The sensors are supplied with power directly via the AI 040, their signals are scanned and the values determined are transmitted to the higher-level control system. "Thanks to the special measuring module, we can keep maintenance times short for our customers and optimize the time and cost of replacing wearing parts," says Karl Leitner, underlining the advantage of the condition monitoring solution in the smallest of spaces.

Function package with high packing density

The AI 040 condition monitoring module has four IEPE interfaces, each of which allows the current sources to be adjusted separately.

© Sigmatek

Depending on the user-specific configuration and machine variant - sorting widths of 700, 1000 or 1400 mm are possible - two valve rows with a maximum of 448 valves each can be installed in one system. In total, this adds up to 896 digital outputs - housed in 56 S-Dias modules. Together with the CPU, communication and condition monitoring modules, this results in a total of over 60 individual modules, each just 12.5 mm wide.

Communication between the module blocks takes place via the Varan real-time Ethernet bus, while communication with the higher-level machine control and visualization system takes place via the standard Ethernet interface. "The packing density of the solution is enormous and the modularity of the I/O system fits perfectly with our modular machine concept," concludes Karl Leitner. The positive experience was not without consequences: Clarity's sister 'Minexx' - Binder+Co's mineral sorting machines for the primary raw materials industry - will now also be equipped with the S-Dias system for valve control.

Author:
Ingrid Traintinger works in the Marketing Communication department at Sigmatek.

The Binder+Co Group

The Binder+Co Group consists of Binder+Co Aktiengesellschaft, the three wholly-owned subsidiaries Comec-Binder in Italy (shredding), Bublon in Gleisdorf (thermal processing) and Binder+Co Machinery in China as well as the joint venture Statec Binder (packaging and palletizing), which is also based in Gleisdorf (Austria). With an average of 376 employees, the Group generated a total turnover of EUR 95.50 million in the 2015 financial year. Today, the listed company is in private free float, having been part of the then nationalized Voestalpine Group for many years in the 1970s.

In Gleisdorf, the focus is on the three segments of processing, environmental and packaging technology. The clientele includes customers in both the primary and secondary raw materials industries, with an export ratio of over 90%. The machines are used to process bulk materials such as coal, ores, industrial materials, waste glass, waste paper, plastic waste, products from the chemical and petrochemical industries, artificial fertilizers, salt, sand, mortar and food and animal feed.