Modular monitoring concept keeps watch on entire extruder

To simplify monitoring of all extrusion line parameters, extruder manufacturer Battenfeld Extrusionstechnik GmbH (BEX; Bad Oeynhausen, Germany) has developed a modular concept consisting of three components: energy monitoring, production monitoring, and maintenance monitoring. The system is integrated in the BMCtouch client-server operating system so that all relevant data can be shown at any place and time.

The first of these new modular systems is operating as a pilot project at one of the manufacturer’s PVC window profile customers.

The energy monitoring module measures the energy flows in the machine and visualizes the distribution of energy. From these, it calculates the specific energy consumption per kilogram of the extruded product. Processors can use the information to determine which measures they take have the greatest effect on energy efficiency.

Maintenance monitoring, the second component of the new system, supports a processor’s desire to do maintenance on a predetermined schedule by means of maintenance alarm signals, akin to the ‘Change oil’ lamp on a car. Service intervals are included in the calculation, and model calculations are carried out for machine components with a load-dependent service life, such as drive systems.

Production monitoring, the third component, automatically collects data about the production status of a line, such as setup times, uptime and downtime, and calculates key production figures from these data. This helps a processor to make direct comparisons between different extrusion lines and transfer best practices from one line across an entire plant. —Matt Defosse