An advanced, single database, all-PC, real-time process control system for its own line of molding machines and for others, including high-pressure molding machines as well as auxiliaries, made its debut at K. It is called the Hettinga Advanced-Level Control and is trademarked Halc. Using an Intel Pentium processor running the Windows NT OS, Halc is designed for easy and friendly setup and operation, excellent connectivity, and affordable upgrading while meeting even the most stringent industrial safeties. It also features a touchscreen GUI that allows molders to design customized touchscreen interfaces with multiple level security restrictions to prevent unwanted process modifications.

Bypassing the traditional PLC-based control systems, Halc is designed to monitor and control up to 160 temperatures (including hot runner, mold, and barrel), injection rate, injection pressure, backpressure, and other setpoints. Halc also features closed loop injection velocity, 40-stage injection rate, and pressure and backpressure profiling. It can be expanded with the addition of input and output (I/O) cards that can be installed on the system. I/Os are optically isolated, completely distributed, and scalable without loss in performance.

The company?s own high-level script language uses descriptive phrases for faster, easier, and more intuitive programming. And there is built-in support for English and up to 18 other languages. Hettinga owner Siebolt Hettinga says his company is currently talking with several machinery OEMs about licensing the system, which would eventually be the vehicle for delivery to molders. In the meantime, Hettinga will license the control technology on a company-by-company basis and will provide the software only or the hardware and software if needed. The package sells for $29,500.

Hettinga Technologies Inc.
Des Moines, IA
Phone: (515) 270-6900
Fax: (515) 270-1333