What does the Belvac High Speed Selective Sorter™ mean for the Can Maker
"…as a rule, sampling from the die Necker required that the machine first be stopped before a sample could be removed.
Samples are taken by 'jogging' the die Necker several times to complete a full rotation and collect cans from each pocket. This process can be time consuming, taking an average of two to five minutes.
When repeated over a 24-hour period, this adds up to serious production losses. In a typical quality assurance sampling schedule at two-hour intervals and calculating worst-case scenarios of five minutes, lost production figures could be as high as 36 pallets over a 24-hour period."
John Nutting, The Canmaker Aug. 2008
Software used in the HSSS system is intuitive and provides the operator a number of options in container sampling. The operator has the choice of configuring which
samples will be selected, from which Necker pockets these samples will come as well as how many cans to sample. The system can be programmed with a repeat schedule for routine sampling. Sampling options are configured via the operator interface and can be stored as recipes for future use.
System configuration can be accessed through the interface eliminating the need for additional calibration equipment when calibration. Plant Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) can be used to remotely configure sample requests based on QA scheduling and process driven quality sampling requirements.
Integrated 595 Light Testers or Vision Systems which are part of the die necking modules can be linked electronically with the HSSS and provide intelligent sampling of quality related issues. When BMID (Body Maker Identification) is part of the Vision package, the HSSS can be configured to selectively target and sort specified BMID containers for inspection purposes. Tooling issues can also be monitored by selectively sorting a single pocket from the flow of cans passing through the machine, not imposing further damage to the sampled can.
Hardwired interfaces provide override functionality to existing integrated 595 Light Testers or Vision components to allow Light Tester and Vision systems to identify them and hand off to the HSSS. Soft interfaces provide the necessary interaction between the Light Tester or Vision System and HSSS, transferring reject commands to the sorter for processing. In this case, the reject commands take priority over scheduled samples, enabling the system to manage rejects by sorting a scheduled sample from that of a reject can.
The mechanical components of the HSSS are integral to the Necker discharge track work. The container is transferred from the process turret into the primary transfer starwheel; then to the sorter starwheel, without interrupting the production process or damaging the container. The HSSS components can be retrofitted to existing modular or fixed-based Belvac Neckers
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