Industry 4.0 for drying machines
Digitalization, remote control and smart wiring for high-quality products
SmartWire-DT puts more data at our disposal. This detailed information enables better process control, more in-depth diagnostics and, perhaps most importantly, preventive maintenance. Without us having to physically go out to customers, we can identify potential problems in advance and intervene in a timely manner, replacing the faulty component and minimizing the system's downtime.
Background
Founded in 1961, Officine di Cartigliano S.p.A. has been dedicated to innovation from the outset, specializing in designing, planning and producing leather processing plants. Researching the optimal humidity conditions to maintain both before and after treating the hide led to the development of the first vacuum machine. From the very beginning, this machine stood out thanks to its leading-edge technologies and functionality: The drying process it carried out enabled the company's technicians to ensure that the characteristics of the product were not affected. Given the significance of this result, the system was an immediate success; over the years, the vacuum unit has been continuously updated to suit new areas of application.
Indeed, it is this continuous investment in research and development, with the aim of designing machines that are state of the art in terms of innovation and technology, that is Officine di Cartigliano's distinctive and defining trait. Back in the 1960s, for example, the company developed the first radio frequency (RF) drying system, which made it possible to bring the residual humidity to the correct levels after vacuum processing.
In recent years, Officine di Cartigliano has further renewed the RF technology used in drying by designing a solution called "solid-state radio frequency" which is based on a fully electronic circuit. This guarantees greater efficiency and control, increased safety and electromagnetic compatibility.
The company's systems were initially intended primarily to treat hides; but today, having modified the frequency and temperature parameters, Officine di Cartigliano's machines are widely renowned and employed in the food sector too, where they are used to sterilize and pasteurize liquid and semi-liquid products. Likewise in this industry, the techniques the machines employ are able to preserve the nutritional value and organoleptic qualities of the foods, meaning that their vitamin content remains unchanged while their taste, color and flavor are enhanced.
Challenge
In the food sector, it's common for certain products to be sold and consumed in countries other than their country of origin, which consequently risks the product deteriorating in the period between production and consumption. This dynamic therefore presents a challenge in terms of logistics and preservation — a challenge that necessitates an innovative solution.
Officine di Cartigliano's mission arose from its desire to address this need: that is to say, the need to produce state-of-the-art machines that are tailored to customers' specific processing requirements to ensure optimal preservation and not affect the characteristics of the treated products.
The company is able to meet the demand for preservation outside the refrigeration cycle thanks to a patented proprietary system that uses an electromagnetic field for pasteurization and sterilization at low temperatures, without ionization. This technique makes it possible for the food's organoleptic qualities, nutritional value and vitamin content to be retained, and for the food to be stored, transported and consumed in the long term.
Moreover, the company needed to implement a system for managing the machines and related components. This system had to be able to provide real-time data on the drying status of the product, automatically monitor the entire process, and minimize waste and unwanted production downtime.
Since Officine di Cartigliano primarily exports its equipment overseas, it also needed to offer remote control capability and the ability to intervene promptly should problems occur.
Solution
Recognizing the importance of being able to rely on a professional partner with whom it was already actively collaborating, Officine di Cartigliano chose Eaton to digitalize and modernize its machines. The project saw the integration of a comprehensive, revolutionary solution consisting of the XV300 HMI PLC panel, the SmartWire-DT intelligent wiring system (IP20 and IP67/69K), PKE motor protection switches, PXS24 electronic fuses and RMQ-Titan pushbuttons into the company's existing equipment.
"Having evaluated proposals from other market players as well, we chose Eaton due to the trust earned during our previous collaborations and for its reliable, professional, state-of-the-art solutions, not to mention its efficient service and support. We truly believe in innovation, so much so that every year we invest 15–20% of our turnover in research and development: relying on a partner who shares our same values has proven to be the right choice," said Fernando Bressan, R&D Director at Officine di Cartigliano S.p.A.'s RF Division.
The XV300 HMI PLC panel in particular has improved human-machine interaction and simplified system management, as well as offering simplicity comparable to that of a smartphone thanks to the extremely intuitive user interface. The panel also offers advanced graphics and allows operations to be loaded very quickly, even when the pages are very detailed.
"The XV300 HMI PLC stands out thanks to its outstanding features and performance, including capacitive touch screen, ideal size, optimized graphics and rapid response times. In addition to these features, we've also really appreciated some of the panel's more strictly mechanical aspects such as its unbreakable and shatterproof glass," continues Bressan.
To simplify the connection between the machine's various components and optimize communication inside and outside the electrical panel boards, Officine di Cartigliano integrated Eaton's SmartWire-DT into its own equipment. This has enabled the company to not only considerably reduce cable clutter and design and installation costs, but also optimize maintenance and ensure the machine's continuity of service. Replacing the traditional and costly control circuit wiring with a single SmartWire-DT cable allowed the PLC panel to be connected inside the panel board. This meant that the sensors and actuators had to be moved to the outside, which has ultimately led to greater simplification, higher safety and fewer errors. Installation and commissioning times were also significantly shorter than those required by traditional wiring.
"SmartWire-DT puts more data at our disposal. This detailed information enables better process control, more in-depth diagnostics and, perhaps most importantly, preventive maintenance. Without us having to physically go out to customers, we can identify potential problems in advance and intervene in a timely manner, replacing the faulty component and minimizing the system's downtime," adds Bressan.
The data collected is then promptly and securely transferred to the cloud in order to monitor the condition of the machine or for preventive maintenance. Thanks to the integrated web server, data from the field is automatically converted into HTML-5-based web pages and displayed on the XV300 HMI PLC.
Furthermore, this project saw Cartigliano use Eaton's PXS24 electronic fuses for the first time, choosing various sizes to improve the protection of its 24-V DC circuits. By quickly identifying overloading and selectively cutting the power supply to the affected parts of the machine, Eaton's solution makes it possible to keep the entire system under control (even virtually), as well as prevent large-scale damage and shut down the system in a controlled manner.
The company is able to remotely control every single component of the equipment in real time. It can identify the energy consumption and conduct the necessary assessments on both system efficiency and on possible improvements.
Results
Integrating Eaton solutions into Officine di Cartigliano's food treatment machines has helped to digitalize the company and implement its vision 4.0: Indeed, the SmartWire-DT platform and smart devices have enabled lean, intelligent and efficient management of production activities.
"The SmartWire-DT solution really surprised us: we saw it as an extra feature but it proved to be crucial. Without this intelligent, simple and fast system, the installation would have been three times larger. It has also reduced wiring time by 50%. Even the machine's esthetic appearance has undoubtedly improved: There are now just six or seven cables coming out of the control panel, whereas in the past—with traditional wiring—there were 60 or so," concludes Bressan.
Last but not least, the ability to remotely control the system commissioned by Eaton has opened up new possibilities for remote management: Officine di Cartigliano is now able to communicate with the machinery and intervene promptly if necessary. Considering that 80% of its machines are exported, this functionality constitutes significant added value for the business.
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