The Premio Innovazione award has confirmed that with the Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper, Tetra Pak® has achieved a machine solution that pushes the boundaries of conventional packaging lines. The decisive factor for the three- to four-fold improvement in performance is a completely redesigned drive concept: moving away from the classic drive train towards a highly dynamic mechatronic solution based on XTS technology from Beckhoff.
Davide Borghi (2nd from left) and Gianmarco Di Eusebio (3rd from left) from the Tetra Pak® Development & Technology team at the Premio Innovazione award ceremony. © Tetra Pak®
Core to the solution are two parallel XTS tracks, each 4.5 m long, and each with 55 individually controllable permanent magnet carriages. These freely programmable movers allow for independent, precise positioning along a continuous path so that each individual cap can be aligned and applied in real time and with an accuracy of a tenth of a millimetre. The natural differences between the cardboard containers can thus be compensated for reliably.
XTS replaces mechanical components in the machine with software logic, increases the degree of digitalisation and data transparency, enables condition monitoring, and improves quality assurance. This mechatronic solution uses EtherCAT-based communication and is configured via TwinCAT, which allows seamless integration into the machine's other automation and drive technology. One XTS-based line can handle three conventional systems, which means users can significantly reduce the space needed and construction costs. Reliability and availability are also simultaneously increased. Product changes and format conversions are carried out largely by software.
The Premio Innovazione award, presented at the Italian innovation forum SMAU, attests to the technology’s high practical relevance as it honours projects that have been nominated by users as best practice. The Tetra Pak®'s Cap Applicator 40 Speed Hyper and its XTS mechatronics solution are already being used by large, global F&B companies, confirming its industrial maturity and potential for further automation and digitalisation functions.
For more information visit: www.beckhoff.com
