HMI solution optimises manufacturing operations; facilitates control and monitoring    

By OEM Update Editorial March 5, 2024 12:53 pm IST

Red Lion’s CR3000 HMI offers an all-in-one solution. This case study discusses how HMI facilitated Wick Machinery with management, control, documentation, and traceability information in one integrated system. Also, it automatically manages the various filling recipes through pre-programmed machine settings.

Wick-Machinery is a leading machine builder specialising in manufacturing filling machines and equipment. The company serves customers globally across industries such as cosmetics, diagnostics, chemicals, and food.

The company’s primary objective was to identify a scalable Human-Machine Interface (HMI) solution that can easily integrate with all machines within the manufacturing environment. This solution should be able to communicate with various pieces of equipment involved in the manufacturing process. The goal was to enhance data acquisition and management capabilities, specifically within the filling process. Filling and closing processes are demanding. The machines are primarily used in different operations and often have to be individually designed.

Identifying issue

Wick- Machinery wanted to update their different filling machines with HMIs for a flexible and uniform solution. In addition to providing a simple and user-friendly platform, the HMI interface must be able to handle data acquisition and data management functions of additional hardware components, such as a barcode scanner, a scale, and a printer.

Moreover, the newly implemented HMI solution must establish communication with diverse machine controllers and integrate into the unique automation and IT environment specific to each filling system. It was also important that the HMI was available in various models and display sizes with the same features so that they would easily fit into the different-sized machines. Expanding the HMI solutions on existing equipment to incorporate these essential functions was viable, but it entailed significant costs.

Wick-Machinery was looking for an all-in-one solution to do all of the above. Also, it can fulfil additional customer-specific tasks depending on the type of machine.

Solution

Wick-Machinery found the optimum solution with help from the automation specialists at Reliste GmbH in Brunn am Gebirge, Austria – a complete HMI solution with flexible application. They quickly created an operating solution using the CR3000 HMI series from Red Lion that met all of Wick‘s requirements and worked to implement the solution quickly.

The CR3000 HMI Series from Red Lion ® offers display sizes of 4”, 7”, 10” and 15” and is powered by Crimson® automation software. Red Lion‘s Crimson is an innovative and intuitive software for programming automation environments. It provides real-time data acquisition and data processing of auxiliary devices, such as barcode scanners, label printers or ingredient scales. A user-specific and independently operating automation environment can be created with a few clicks.

Crimson captures and converts industry-standard protocols for interfacing to processes, SCADA and ERP systems, and data logging systems, regardless of manufacturer. Protocol conversion includes more than 300 protocols and offers more than 1000 combinations, and connection to the most popular cloud providers, such as Cumolocity and Azure, via a preconfigured MQTT is easy. Crimson provides the user an expandable operating platform, as additional interfaces to the automation and IT environment can be easily implemented. The result is a flexible, all-in-one HMI solution consisting of the CR3000 HMI powered by Crimson software.

Result

This all-in-one solution using Red Lion’s CR3000 HMI helps provide management, control, documentation and traceability information to Wick Machinery. It automatically manages the various filling recipes through pre-programmed machine settings, for example, determining the amount of liquid to be filled per bottle. To load the corresponding amount, the machine operator scans the barcode on the order via the connected barcode scanner. The fill quantity is controlled with a scale that communicates via the CR3000.

The CR3000 also interfaces with a label printer, and individual labels can be created for each filled bottle. The system then automatically checks the weight of each bottle, intervenes to regulate it if necessary, and creates the associated documentation. Since each filled bottle is given a label with a unique ID, quality control can trace faulty batches back to an individual bottle. The data logging feature of the CR3000 assists with traceability and can help provide data necessary to facilitate recall actions. In addition, the HMI solution documents the number of bottles filled per shift.

Wick-Machinery Gmbh Management commented, “We are very satisfied with the new operating solution for our filling lines. The Red Lion CR3000 HMI solution that Reliste provided us is a turnkey solution in a relatively short time. The product includes our desired features and functions, connects to all the necessary interfaces, and can easily adapt to our customers’ automation and IT environment thanks to its Crimson software. Depending on the size of the line, we will now use the CR3000 with 4”, 7”, 10” or 15” displays on all our filling lines.”

Wick- Machinery is internationally renowned for designing individual customer solutions perfectly tailored to the application. Development and construction of filling machines and control cabinets, including parts production and assembly, carried out centrally at the two sites in Vienna and Himberg, Austria.