Concept for the safe set-up operation of highly dynamic decentralized drives in packaging machines

Inhalt:
The use of servo drives to decentralize drive trains is a strong driver of technical progress in the field of packaging machines. Advantages arise not only from the flexible allocation of work elements to one another, but also from the possibility of motion adjustment for optimizing the interactions between work elements and packaged goods and work elements and packaging materials. These diverse possibilities require a high degree of functional settings and calibrations, directly in the safety-critical process area, in which work elements, packaged goods, and packaging materials are moved. Despite the numerous safe motion functions offered by servo systems, in most cases, free access by the machine operator must be denied due to statutory requirements. This article describes a method that, by utilizing various operating principles, can increase safety during the setup of decentralized driven packaging machines. This enables the realization of new machine and operating concepts that were previously not feasible for safety reasons.