Processing industries / mechanical engineering

Application report


Updating concept and retrofitting of a bag sealing machine

The task:

Bags of varying width are produced from continuous film tubing by sealing and cutting using a sealing bar. The maximum possible output rate was around 67 bags per minute. The mechanical-hydraulic (see animation below) drive was to be replaced by an electronic drive.

Aim:

Increased productivity
Enhanced usability
Shorter resetting times for different bag widths

Method of solution:

The brief was to replace the mechanical-hydraulic drive by an electronic drive. This involved both the “material feed” axis and the “sealing bar positioning” axis which were operated sequentially in the existing system, i.e. one axis did not start until the other had completed its motion sequence. Material feed was provided by an eccentric drive with thrust linkage. Vertical positioning of the sealing bar was achieved using a double pneumatic toggle joint.

Our solution:

The two axes are controlled using Lenord + Bauer type LD 2000 converters. The LD100 cam-plate module enables parallel motion with minimal waiting times. For the sealing bar, Lenord + Bauer designed a belt-driven axis with eccentric plates to raise and lower the sealing bar smoothly and quietly. Parameters such as bag width, output rate, quantity and sealing times are entered via an operator terminal.

In addition, Lenord + Bauer programmed a customer-specific PLC program in the cam-plate module to control an I/O expansion module via the CAN bus.

Our service offering:

Problem analysis
Engineering the necessary process step
Project management
Software programming
On-site commissioning

Customer benefits:

50% increase in productivity (output rate 100 bags per minute)
Significantly enhanced usability
Shorter resetting times thanks to extended functionality and input options on the operator terminal
Reduction in noise level

Why Lenord + Bauer?