Industry 4.0 capable automation components for film production

From October 19 – 26, the German city of Düsseldorf will once again be hosting K, the world's number one trade fair for the plastics industry. As a specialist in the automation of film production, Erhardt+Leimer will be presenting a new generation of web guiding and web tension control systems, focusing in the process on the integrated digital network capability of the components across the board. For customers interested in quality assurance, a print image monitoring system for packaging printing machines and an ultrasonic surface weight measurement system will be on show. 

All current E+L components for web guiding are ready for IoT 4.0 – i.e. suitable for integration in the latest generation of production systems. Across the board, these high-volume devices can be connected both actively and passively to digital networks – whether sensors, pivoting frames, or high-precision linear drives. This new technology, which is offered by E+L under the name of EL.NET, therefore fits seamlessly into the manufacturing and ERP systems of the users in order to enable automated, documented production. Device and system data of E+L products can be backed up and restored if required. The high performance products offers both direct and remote access for servicing, and their functions can be easily upgraded via the Data Master or PLC.

This latest generation of components with integrated web server and intuitive browser-based administration helps technical staff to achieve continuous, optimized production. This is largely thanks to the integrated high-tech analysis tools, which can be used directly without any need for additional software. This reduces or completely avoids downtime and ensures long-term quality assurance.

 Maintenance-free web guider with EL.NET technology

As a representative of this new EL.NET generation of products, E+L will be presenting – among other devices – the DRB33 pivoting frame system from the ELGUIDER product family at K. The wear-free, brushless drive technology delivers maximum positional accuracy and control dynamics. The web guider can be combined with various sensors, including the FX 42/52 ultrasonic edge sensor for transparent plastic materials or the FE 52 color line sensor for printed webs with line or color contrasts. A motorized positioning device for the sensors can be integrated as an option for frequent format changes. The web guider can be networked via Ethernet with EL.NET control systems using a star or line topology. Solutions for service and diagnostics are very easy to implement via web-based management using a standard web browser.

Surface weight measurement with an accuracy of 0.01 g/m2

ELTIM is an ultrasound-based, radiation-free sensor for contactless determination of the surface weight and thickness of thin materials such as plastic films and coatings. Thanks to the high measurement frequency and the small detection area, ELTIM offers very high resolution transverse to the direction of web travel. The accuracy for thin films is as high as 0.01 g/m2. The sensor is insensitive to height fluctuations of the web and offers high tolerance to variations in material composition. On request it can be equipped with environmental sensors for integrated measurement of e.g. temperature, air pressure, and humidity.

New features for the ELSCAN OMS6 video system

In 2017, Erhardt+Leimer launched the ELSCAN OMS6 video system for print image monitoring. This system, which the manufacturer considers the high-end system of its portfolio, is now running on several hundred machines around the world. On these, the ELSCAN OMS6 system ensures that registers, print quality, and color fidelity meet the customer's expectations. Waste is reduced to a minimum, and full use is made of the available performance of the printing machines.OMS6 now offers a number of new software functions that have been recently added. The new features, some of which were already available on the standard OMS4 system, include master image comparison, DeltaE color monitoring, and the haze or streak defect module. With master image comparison, smallest changes in the print image can be detected during production. Another high-precision inspection function is the new DeltaE color monitoring feature. This allows color measurement points to be set in the repeat so that even the smallest nuances of color changes can be detected, which are then displayed as a DeltaE value.At 234 x 124 mm, ELSCAN OMS6 offers the biggest field of view of any product in the ELSCAN family, as well as the patented "dualView" technology with two 12 Megapixel cameras. Depending on the zoom level, either the telephoto camera or the wide-angle camera is activated. During zooming, the system switches unnoticeably between the cameras. As a result, print images can be displayed at many times their original resolution. This unique concept permits almost distortion-free zooming all the way up to the highest resolution. On the OMS6 variant, this yields an image resolution in 4K quality (2x 4096 pixels), which delivers above-average edge sharpness. Thanks to the high-precision camera positioning via the motorized, maintenance-free crossbeam guide with proprietary E+L drive, which enables an adjusting speed of 1,000 mm/s, the system is suitable for working widths of up to 3,250 mm.