The newest technology sooner
Ronetic Industrial Automation builds on itsme’s knowledge and logistics
At Ronetic, “using fewer hands” is the most important issue for customers. It means automation and robotisation, though preferably in a manageable and affordable way, so the trick is to keep a hold over how complex the technology is. This can be done by setting up the control in a clear and organised way, for example, and by combining components where possible. For centralised control, itsme recommended a new I/O system from Festo with an integrated valve island.
Customers require turnkey projects, and their primary issue is “using fewer hands”, explains Roland van de Kamp, founder and director of Ronetic Industrial Automation BV in Veghel. “The biggest technical challenge will be shortening the cycle time, i.e. making more products in the same amount of time. That is definitely the case within the injection moulding world, where our roots lie, and where the margins are only in so many decimal places.” The short cycle time is determined by a sophisticated mechanical design and a high-speed control. When it came to a project for a tube-feeding bottle manufacturer, Ronetic knew just what to do.
Cleaner, cheaper, continuous
The bottles are made with blow moulding, after which they are inspected, fitted with a screw-top, put into a blister packet and finally packed into boxes of ten. Screwing on the lids and packing continued to be done by hand. One important reason for using fewer hands at this stage, and so to increase automation, is that the process largely takes place in a cleanroom due to the need for a sterile environment. In the cleanroom, square metres are expensive, and people are a source of contamination. Moreover, bottle production runs seven days a week, while employees only work Monday to Friday; the production from the weekend is processed on Mondays. In short, automation would allow production to be cleaner, cheaper and truly continuous. Ronetic structured the automation from a cellular approach. In between the inspection cell, screw-top cell, blister packet cell and box-packing cell, a buffer cell appeared each time. This buffer would accommodate the continuing flow of bottles, 1,200 units per hour, in the event of a malfunction or the supply of lids needed to be refilled, for example. An earlier attempt at fully automating this production process, carried out by a different automation company, was unsuccessful.
“That’s what makes things simplest for the operator”
Ronetic was not afraid to take on the second attempt, tells mechanical structural engineer Hans van Melis. “Because the servo technology for operations such as screwing on lids, and the camera technology for inspection have since been developed further, the bigger challenge for us was handling. When a freshly sprayed bottle comes out of the machine it can be warm and quite stiff, making it very difficult to handle. And when air gets into the blister packets that the bottles are in, that’s a crime too.” However, Ronetic knew just how to solve these mechanical issues.
A question of control technology
Alongside this there was also the question of control technology: should there be one overall control system, with a single central PLC and remote I/O for every cell, or should every cell be provided with its own PLC? For advice, Ronetic turned to technical service provider itsme, long-standing partner of the Veghel-based company. According to Van de Kamp, the large number of cells meant that centralised control was the best option: “it’s what makes things simplest for the operator.” The PLC would be provided by Siemens, Ronetic’s trusted provider, while there were multiple options for the remote I/O. The final choice went to a new product from Festo, the CPX-AP-I I/O system with an integrated valve island. Cost considerations played a role, as well as the fact that the Festo system has M8 connectors, which are well suited to Ronetic’s automation, versus M12 in a competing product. Far more important, however, was that the Festo system has a bus for real-time communication, while the competing system does not, since it works with a slower IO-Link. Real-time communication allows for faster control, and as such reduces the cycle time. Furthermore, the Festo bus offers greater capacity, for example for monitoring data that are important for maintenance. “We are definitely going to be interested in that, but it’s still in the future for now.” Something that is already important now is that the valve island ensures saving on cabling and the number of components required. “That means that the installation is plug & play, and is also cheaper.”
“Cell-based construction lets us keep things clear”
The Festo I/O system, connected to the PLX, is programmed directly from the Siemens TIA Portal. A piece of cake for Ronetic, who are very happy with the advice they received from itsme. So is Ronetic’s customer, who have by now been making use of the newest automation for some time. Van Melis explains that “packaging is critical when it comes to medical products. If there is even the slightest bit of damage, the sterility is gone immediately.” In Veghel, it is expected that Ronetic will be able to make use of the integrated I/O system in further projects. “We chose this system because of the cell-based construction, and that’s what we will do with more projects, because it lets us keep things clear.”
Enthusiastic team, wide-ranging experience
Roland van de Kamp has been developing applications for the automation of injection moulding processes for almost thirty years. In 2002, he set up Ronetic Industrial Automation, which focuses on specialist machine construction for the automation and robotisation of industrial processes in the wider sense – from the handling, assembly and inspection of injection moulding products to the palletising and depalletising of glass pots and cans in a food-safe environment. Ronetic’s enthusiastic team gets all of this done. “Everyone is involved in each of our projects, and the lines are short.” The team has extensive experience in the areas of both mechanics and control technology. For the component manufacturing they work with regular suppliers, and for advice around automation technology and logistics they work with itsme.