Smart Controllers | Canada

Challenges in achieving both high performance and total cost reduction
An engineer of food processing equipment at a manufacturer which provided total services from food processing machines to packaging machines and plant engineering was working on PET bottle drink filling machine development. Considering safety, a large size operation box was used for drink filling machines to prevent accidents from occurring. It was intended to ensure safety of operators by forcing them to use both hands so that neither hand is free. However, users who introduced a filling machine mentioned that it was heavy and difficult to handle during manual operation of the filling machine or maintenance.
IDEC proposed a method which contributed to total cost reduction in designing a control panel. So what was the method?

Consolidate several control equipment into a controller with display

IDEC proposed a solution to achieve both high performance and total cost reduction by using the compact FT1A Touch, a controller that had both a display and control function. Storage tanks for food need to keep temperature constant in order to control quality of food, so control equipment such as temperature control devices including heating and cooling devices, and PLCs for control are used. Furthermore, display devices to indicate temperature and values for monitoring the control status are also used. Previously, several control equipment such as display devices, temperature devices, and PLCs were needed, but with FT1A Touch, functions are consolidated into one. By doing so, control panels are can be made smaller and the number of parts can be reduced to create less work in wiring and designing, which contribute to total cost reduction.
Also, digital and analog control, data logging of temperature inputs using thermocouples is possible. The status of fluid control using tank levels and electromagnetic valves can be recorded as data, making it easy to analyze the data using PC.
The engineer is very satisfied with using the product as control panels are significantly smaller than before and wiring and maintenance time is reduced. He is considering the use of the FT1A Touch on other food processing machines.

Line up of various control devices provides solutions for the production floor
IDEC provides high-quality control and safety devices such as PLC, HMI, pushbutton switches, pilot lights relays, safety switches, emergency stop switches, enabling switches, safety laser scanners, and safety controllers and has a positive reputation for having the most safety assessors in the industry. IDEC can provide your company with consulting on overall safety solutions for your manufacturing floor, not just on safety devices.
Please contact IDEC if you have any concerns about safety measures.