Digitalisation and process control, the wider concept of sustainability
Sacmi, hall 13 – booth A63
The Sacmi range has been developed to transform sustainability into opportunity and make it a source of competitive advantage, as the latest generation of machines and control systems on show shall demonstrate. Behind these solutions lies the use of new eco-sustainable materials and an approach to quality control that makes extensive use of AI. This means simplifing workers’ tasks, making line management more proactive and optimising man-machine resources, says Sacmi.
New IPS 300: state-of-the-art performance
IPS 300 is the latest Sacmi preform press. It completes a range that has been on the market for 10 years, providing solutions that offer best performance, low consumption, fast set-ups and quick changeovers. Like the IPS 400, the new IPS 300 features high compatibility with various mould types, including those produced by third parties. Workers’ tasks are streamlined at every stage – from start-up to size changeovers and control of auxiliary units. From a product perspective, the IPS 300 is designed to work with 24-cavity moulds for 48 mm necks and up to 96 cavities for 30 mm necks. Further opportunities include a 128-cavity configuration for 26/22 mm necks, taking advantage of the Nano Pitch patented solution from MHT, the main partner of Sacmi concerning mould supplying. A unique solution within today’s range of available technologies, says Sacmi.
The new IPS 300 press has a lock-to-lock time of 2 seconds and fast cycle times, characteristics that stem from the patented Cool+ after-cooler (inside cooling system) which improves thermal efficiency and boosts productivity. In terms of versatility, the IPS 300 has a wide range of plasticising units (from 625 to 1,220 kg/h) and various kits designed to streamline system use and enhance finished product quality.
At 0.2 kWh/kg, the IPS 300 has a low energy consumption. This is achieved via a combination of kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and adaptive self-tuning. The IPS 300 can incorporate the PVS 156, a preform vision system designed and manufactured by Sacmi, with the aim to meaningfully contribute to the IPS process, without affecting the press footprint. PVS156 performs a accurate and precise inspection of the preform, providing detailed statistic and reports, also based on cavity number; each preform is weighted and its temperature is detetected in different positions.
A 96-cavity mould is typically inspected in less than 5 minutes, corresponding to about 1,200 preforms per hour, says Sacmi. The company considers these numbers to be very interesting on an absolute level and even more significant when compared to the accuracy and repetitiveness of the inspection that a trained operator can perform in the same amount of time.
The rPET approach: extended range and products
The recyclable material par excellence, PET has been the focus of the industry’s development efforts for years. Such developments concern both the technology – presses capable of processing higher percentages of recycled resins – and research into new materials and applications.
For several years now, all standard Sacmi IPS models have been able to process up to 100% rPET and up to 50% PET in recycled flake form. The in-press hopper to be presented by Sacmi at the K’ show allows for further acceleration on this front by increasing the flake share to 70-75%. The single hopper optimises the flake-granule mix without the complexities that stem from having to manage two distinct processing hoppers.
This proposal offers process simplification, which Sacmi combines with intense Research & Development into the use of PET instead of other resins (for example, to replace the traditional polystyrene used in the dairy sector). Thanks to its skilled Rigid Packaging Laboratory team and their understanding of materials and processes, Sacmi will also preview some of its latest producible items – such as new yogurt cartons made of transparent PET – that are driving sustainability by opening up new opportunities from both a product and market perspective.
CCM technology
The ability to design new products – such as PET dairy cartons – stems directly from the specific characteristics of the compression process, such as the lower material extrusion temperature, the absence of both, the gate and the hot runners in the mould. This results in a greater freedom to manage recycled and/or high-viscosity materials and the ability to manufacture light, high-quality, high-performance products.
In the context of key development trends in the PET sector, the K fair offers the opportunity to showcase the latest generation of controls on CCM cap presses, such as the CM-Flow extruder which reduces total electricity consumption on the press by up to 9%. With a 35 mm screw connected directly to the motor, and a footprint as small as 1 meter, CM-Flow can process up to 200 kg/h of resin – the same as a conventional 75 mm extruder. In-the-field tests have demonstrated up to 50% fewer black spots: all other factors remaining equal. In addition to the new extruder, Sacmi customers can count on next-gen CCMs able to mount the new Smart Pack, a digital package that incorporates on-board sensors and controls. These boost plant availability, extend the lifespan of its components and simplify the workers’ tasks by reducing process errors, says Sacmi.
The vision system Classy AI
Applying Artificial Intelligence to vision systems can result in cutting-edge product checks, which can potentially be extended to achieve improved, proactive process management. Integrated on the PVS156 preform vision system displayed at the fair, Classy AI is a new tool that lets manufacturers perform immediate classification of defect types via a user-friendly dashboard. It covers everything from the most common defects to those that would be extremely difficult to spot without the expert eye of a highly trained technician. The result of Sacmi’s R&D on the software and relative control algorithms, Classy AI lets users examine categories of defects: in practice, the operator has a dashboard illustrating the detectable defect types. These are grouped into ‘families’ (accidental, technological, decoration-OCR, measurements, specific), providing a clear overview of the area of the object affected by a problem and compiling quality statistics. If an issue arises, a specific icon comes on, indicating the exact defect type and the affected area. Moreover, the operator is provided with statistics and info on trends. AI helps to treat the defect not as a ‘mathematical’ association between an acquired image and certain parameters but identifies exactly what the defect is in terms of the main defect families and sub-families, arriving at further levels of specificity that register the product type, the size and the technological process in use. Proposed as an integral part of the PVS 156 preform control system, it is set to be integrated on all Sacmi CVS vision systems as part of a new approach that puts the human factor back at the center of the operator-machine-software ecosystem.
