28 n MACHINE BUILDING October 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com Cabinet-free confectionery machine delivers tasty results The German machine-builder WDS (Winkler und Dünnebier Süßwarenmaschinen) specialises in machines for the confectionery industry. Its ConfecPro moulding machines are designed to deposit medium to large capacities of filled and solid chocolates. The machines can fill up to 25 moulds with chocolate, jelly or other ingredients every minute, depending on the product and the equipment. This corresponds to an hourly output of up to three tonnes, with a dosing accuracy of 0.5% of the average product weight. For its latest ConfecPro machines, WDS has adopted a modular, distributed control system design. This reduces the amount of electrical installation work needed on site by up to 70% compared to earlier versions. Previous WDS machines relied on power and feedback lines connected to a central control cabinet. These are no longer needed. Instead, individual drive modules are connected via hybrid cables using a daisychain topology. Compared to its previous-generation machines, WDS now uses less than half as many supply and feedback cables. Originally, the ConfecPro machines needed 12m-long control cabinets. This was later reduced to 1.8m. The latest generation of machines using distributed controls need no control cabinets at all. Modular machine designs have several advantages for machine-builders. For example, because the equipment is preinstalled and tested, it saves time and money during on-site set-up. Also, using modules which can be combined rapidly to achieve customer-specific functions helps to standardise designs. Extra stations can be added when needed. Power consumption is also reduced. Replacing the former central cooling systems with decentralised enclosures using filter fans has reduced the power needed to achieve temperature control by 7.5kW. Energy is also recovered via the servo system’s DC-bus coupling. Polycarbonate moulds are transported through the ConfecPro machine by a chain drive using the loose mould principle. A warming period is followed by the first moulding process involving liquid chocolate. A shell is then created using a patented “flash shell cooling” technology. This is filled again, cooled and sealed. The controls can connect the dosing unit and other axes as required. The exacting demands in terms of quality and productivity need not only precision mechanics, but also a powerful control system. “In larger systems, we combine up to 120 axes and 100 drives in synchronous mould transport,” explains Bernd Plies, WDS’ head of digitalisation. “Each drive can have its own optimised movement profile.” WDS has chosen Rexroth’s cabinet-free IndraDrive Mi and the IndraDrive MLC motion control technology to coordinate around 40 electronically synchronised transport movements, each with its own decentralised IP65-protected drive. According to Plies, another advantage of the system is that it can be connected easily to the SweetConnect open platform developed for the confectionery industry, which is supported by various machine manufacturers. Rexroth’s ctrlX Core control system is used as an edge device and supports vertical interfaces in accordance with the Weihenstephan Standards (WS) or PackML (Packaging Machine Language) to direct data access via ERP and MES systems, as well as horizontal communication using OPC UA and WS Sweets, a new library in the Weihenstephan Standards. “M2M (machine-to-machine) communication makes it possible to pass the current status on to the upstream and downstream machine,”explains Tobias Gerhard, Bosch Rexroth’s business development manager for fast-moving consumer goods. “Thanks to the completely transparent value stream, the whole line can flexibly adjust to new products and situations – from the preparation and the mould system to primary and secondary packaging.” n A German machine-builder has adopted a modular, cabinet-free distributed control architecture for its latest confectionery moulding machines. This has cut on-site installation work by up to 70%, as well as saving space and allowing communications with other machines such as packaging lines. WDS’ modular ConfecPro moulding machine uses decentralised drive technology to save space and reduce cabling. Decentralised servodrives ensure precise feeding of the chocolate moulds. The motion control system synchronises transport movements. Images: WDS
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