Extrusion International 2-2018

38 Extrusion International 2/2018 AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY Advanced Extruder Control Technology Co-rotating twin-screw compound extruder used in R&D facility to test material batches, recipes; pre-configured extrusion solution on control package monitors entire machine, providing “big data” for customer at attractive price point KRAIBURG TPE Corporation in Dulu- th, Ga. is a manufacturer of custom- made thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounds for a variety of market applications in the automotive, med- ical, general industrial and myriad consumer sectors. At the Duluth facil- ity, the product development depart- ment routinely evaluates material batches and new custom compounds for performance and customer speci- fication viability. As an integral step in that process, KRAIBURG TPE engi- neers utilize sophisticated co-rotat- ing, twin-screw extruder technology provided by KraussMaffei Berstorff, from its facility in Florence, Ky. Typical parts made from TPE at Kraiburg Siemens temp zone control system monitors all aspects of extruder, providing “big data” to the host network Owing to the substantial varieties of color, durometer and the wide-rang- ing performance properties required at KRAIBURG TPE, monitoring every aspect of the machine performance is critical. This includes all tempera- tures, speeds, pressures and torque on the extruder itself, plus an under- water pelletizer, gear pump and mul- tiple loss-of-weight feeders used on the line. For the latest machine installed at the KRAIBURG TPE facility, as senior ap- plication engineer at KraussMaffei Berstorff, David Frankenberg, explains: “The lab extrusion line is used for both process and product development as- sessment. A key requirement was the generation of all data in real time, as part of the management system to be used, as well as the condition monitor- ing system needed for predictive main- tenance strategies being employed.” In cooperation with the KRAIBURG TPE team and after evaluating the competitors for the control scheme, KraussMaffei turned to Siemens for assistance, as this supplier was able to bring a pre-configured and highly cost- effective solution to the requirements on this machine. As Frankenberg and his electrical en- gineering associate Martin Gonzalez detailed, the Siemens EXT3370 ap- plication package represented a blending of the current PLC technol- ogy and drives platform with an HMI capable of providing all graphics and multiple data screens on a single dis- play. In addition, the system had the ability to feed the “big data” directly to the KRAIBURG TPE process data archival & analysis system, where it would reside for real-time and long- range performance evaluation by the product development, quality and process teams. All speeds, pres- sures, temperatures and other pa- rameters can be instantly assessed, using set point and actual value data on the display, either at the machine HMI or a remote monitor within the KRAIBURG TPE network. On the KraussMaffei Berstorff ma- chine, the control system comprises the software solution, Siemens drives and motors, the ability to monitor up to 32 separate temperature zones, touch screen technology on a 15” HMI and scalability on the drives to accept the ancillary equipment be- ing monitored at the KRAIBURG TPE facility. In this way, a truly custom- ized solution was devised using an entirely standard and thus highly cost-effective array of components, according to Frankenberg. As an ad- ditional benefit, he noted, the train- ing needed was minimal, owing to the plain language on the control with no need for knowledge of high- level programming skills. Finally, all compound recipes can be eas- ily transferred via USB for portability and security.