Drive intelligence protects the heart of the extruder
Baumüller supplies a special drive system for extrusion machinery manufacturer Mikrosan that prevents costly damage
Is it possible to safeguard the screw in case of operational mistakes? Together with extrusion machinery manufacturer Mikrosan, the drive system partner Baumüller has found an answer to this question: „Thanks to the drive intelligence of Baumüller we can stop the machine in time without mechanical damage. We are happy about the advantages: minimized downtimes, reduced maintenance requirements and increasing productivity”, says Dr. Abdullah Demirci, Deputy General Manager of Mikrosan.
Mikrosan is one of the leading plastic extrusion machinery manufacturers based in Kocaeli, Turkey
Mikrosan is one of the leading plastic extrusion machinery manufacturers based in Kocaeli, Turkey. Their customers are mainly plastic pipe and plastic profile producers worlwide. Mikrosan manufactures more than 1,000 machines yearly and exports to over 50 countries.
“Every customer has different process requirements for their end product and you must be very flexible to meet their needs”, says Dr. Abdullah Demirci. His company designs and manufactures custom made extrusion machines with a production capacity of up to 1.5 tons per hour. “It is not possible to make a standard machine since there is a lot of different end-products in the plastics market. Your machine has to be optimised according to the end product for an efficient production”, he explains further.
Mikrosan is using a special drive system with a synchronous motor DS2 of Baumüller
The specialties of an extruder
Today, modern machines are designed to work with high-tech drive and automation systems. These systems continuously monitor the process parameters to analyse the system and ensure a stable production.
An extruder is the most important machine of a complete extrusion line and there is a rotating screw in this machine to process the plastic material continuously. The extruder screw is a very special and expensive part. That’s why it’s known as the heart of an extruder. “For many years, I have seen a lot of extruder screws that were broken because of operational mistakes. Unfortunately, the automation system can never stop the machine before the screw is broken. I discussed this topic with different automation companies how to solve this problem. Baumüller was the only company listening to this problem very seriously and decided to develop the ‘Shock Detection’ solution for our industry”, emphasized extrusion expert Dr. Demirci.
After one year of cooperation, Mikrosan and Baumüller developed an extruder which stops the machine if an unwanted object enters the screw. This could be a metal part which is coming from the plastic raw material or an operator may drop an object in the screw which could have serious damage on the machine. “We have tested the system with soft and hard metal parts, and we had very good results. Comissioning of the machine was quite easy with the support of Baumüller technical team”, says Dr. Demirci happily.
Mikrosan is using a special drive system with a synchronous motor DS2 and a servo drive b maXX 5000. “Thanks to the drive intelligence of Baumüller that monitors the drive parameters in microseconds, we can stop the machine on time. The advantages of this system are minimized downtime, reduced maintenance requirements, and increased productivity by protecting the machine against mechanical damage”, explains the Deputy General Manager of Mikrosan.
The b maXX 5000 servo drive has the ‘Shock Detection’ functionality inside and monitors the current and speed so that an impending blockage is detected at an early stage
The ’Shock Detection’ function
Baumüller's drives take on other important functions in addition to the classic control tasks to increase productivity in production. Numerous protection functions can be selected from the modular software system. In the case of Mikrosan, the functionality has been adapted directly for the customer needs.
“The ‘Shock Detection’ function was specially developed for use in shredders and plastics machines. It extends the service life of the mechanics and makes it possible to prevent imminent blockages, e.g. caused by too much or the wrong material. Particularly short reaction times are achieved with the drive-integrated implementation, as communication via the fieldbus and thus the fieldbus dead times are no longer necessary. This means that the reaction is calculated in the fast controller cycle and triggered even faster in the event of a fault”, says Axel Hohmann, application engineer at Baumüller.
The drive intelligence of Baumüller operates in microseconds. The ‘Shock Detection’ function stops the extrusion machine immediately to prevent possible damage to the screw
Various limit values can be easily set in the ProDrive operating tool to detect possible blockages and overloads in the drivetrain at an early stage. In addition, the current and speed are monitored so that an impending blockage is detected at an early stage. If this is recognised by the protection function, the system can react very quickly. In shredders, for example, reversing operation can be started to clear blockages. Extrusion machines, on the other hand, are stopped immediately to prevent possible damage to the screw.
Baumüller offers a wide range of functions directly in the drive and thus achieves particularly short cycle times. Baumüller's application specialists offer comprehensive support in parameterising the functions for the respective application and implement new projects together with machine builders like Mikrosan.
Long estimated partnership
Dr. Abdullah Demirci, Deputy General Manager of Mikrosan:
“Mikrosan and Baumüller have been working together for many years in the plastics market. Baumüller is a solution based and flexible company like Mikrosan. They listen to their customers and do their best for them. Mikrosan is doing the same and this makes us successful in the market. Baumüller is also very open to develop specific solutions for the plastics industry and this motivates us to discuss every idea with them. I really appreciate their way of working.”
Conclusion
Manufacturers of extrusion machinery are often challenging with broken screws because of operational mistakes. As the heart of an extruder the screw is the most expensive part of the machinery. Mikrosan is working with Baumüller together for many years in the plastics market and has now developed an extruder which stops the machine if an unwanted object enters the screw. The partnership relies on solution based and flexible cooperation and trustful communication. With the ‘Shock Detection’ function, the screw drive stops and protects the machinery of mechanical damage.
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