Doc Nº APNJ001-EN-02

Horizontal Flow Wrapper Machine

Automated with next Omron products
Model:
R88D-KN@@@-ECT Servo Drive
NJ@- @@@@ Machine Controller
3G3MX2-A@@@@ -E Inverter

APPLICATION NOTE
Omron ATC-Europe
Application Notes
Omron ATC-Europe
Application Notes

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. MACHINE OVERVIEW: The horizontal flow wrapper.

a. Which kind of package.
b. The machine general description.
c. The necessities and requirements for the motion control
d. The Omron solution with SYSMAC NJ
• General overview of the solution
• How the Omron solution match the machine requirements.
• Part list and product description.

3. MACHINE SECTIONS: Detailed description.

a. The main conveyor.
• Description and technical issues.
• How to solve this with Omron.
b. The longitudinal sealer.
• Description and technical issues.
• How to solve this with Omron.
c. The press belt. Optional part.
• Description and technical issues.
• How to solve this with Omron.
d. The transversal sealer
• Description and technical issues
• How to solve this with Omron
e. The unwinder. Optional device
• Description and technical issues.
• How to solve this with Omron.

4. THE MACHINE OPERATION. State diagram and user interface.

5. ADVANCED MACHINE OPERATIONS:

a. No product no feed.
b. No gap no seal.

6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION.

Omron ATC-Europe
Application Notes

1. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this document is to provide a description about how a typical

horizontal flow wrapper machine operates, to describe the main functional operations
of the machine and a possible practical implementation.

Later it is explained how Omron can meet the requirements and offer a solution that
fits the application.

Every part of the machine is discussed in detail, it is explained the operation itself and
how to program this operation with the Omron solution. Some example programs are
provided too so, this document is an useful tool to help both, to select the suitable
Omron products according to your machine, and to program the products as the main
subroutines are pre-made.

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2. MACHINE OVERVIEW

a. Which kind of goods is packaging.

The horizontal flow wrapper machine is designed to pack:

- Solid individual pieces like cookies, cakes.
- Cosmetics & sanitary.
- Etc.

The pack is a soft plastic bag made from a roll of plastic film. See some
examples in the picture:

Fig. 1

The products are solid and they come at a fixed separation on top of a
conveyor in the horizontal direction. The plastic film is wrapped around
the film while the product is feed at a constant speed. The product flow
is continuous and for this reason it is possible to get high production
rates.

b. The machine general description.

Although there are many variations and every machine has differences
from another one due to the OEM technology, the packaging material
and the goods to be packed, we can say that the horizontal flow
wrapper is one of the most standard machine into the packaging
market.

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Here you can see a general diagram of a typical machine:

UNWINDER

Sensor for
empty coil LONGITUDINAL
SEALER

External
E encoder for slip
compensation
TRANSVERSAL
Registration
SEALER
mark

PRODUCT PRESS
INTRODUCTION BELT
MAIN CONVEYOR
Fig. 2

Some parts of the machine must always be present; some other varies
depending on the material used in the bags and on the goods to be
packed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:

The bag material comes from a plastic film coil that is unwinded. This
plastic film is wrapped around the product by some mechanical
elements called formers while the product is moving. This plastic film is
fed by the longitudinal sealer in synchronization with the product at the
same time that it seals the film creating a tube with the product inside.

This tube with the products inside must be sealed transversally (and
cutted transversally too) to form the individual bags. This sealing is
done on the fly.

* * *

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THE MAIN CONVEYOR

The main conveyor is the responsible to feed the products to the rest of
the machine with a constant separation. Typically consist on a conveyor
with some spacers that are running at a constant speed called the “line
speed”. In each spacer there is one product so, the position of every
individual product is perfectly known.

This part of the machine usually runs at the commanded speed with no
corrections.

The main conveyor is driven by a servomotor or, in the most simple

machines, by an AC motor with an external encoder.

* * *

THE PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

This part is the responsible to put the products from the production line
into the main conveyor. This device puts one product between two
spacers in the main conveyor.

In most of the cases this product introduction is a separate machine and

has been specially designed for a certain kind of product. In fact, in
some cases, the product introduction can be even more complex and
expensive than the flow wrapper machine itself.

One quite common configuration of a product introduction is a series of

small conveyors driven by servomotors running at different speeds that
separate the products and feeds them in synchronization with the main
conveyor. To know the position of the products it is necessary a
photocell in each individual conveyor.

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION
Sensors for product
adjustments

Products from the

production line

Product separators

Fig. 3

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You need to have as many of those “separators” as number of products

that fits in one single separator.
* * *

THE FILM FEEDER AND LONGITUDINAL SEALER

The film feeder, consist in two pre-heated wheels driven by a

servomotor that seals the plastic bag longitudinally while, at the same
time, it is feeding the plastic film.

When the plastic film is of a single color or has a random design, the
movement is just a synchronization with the main conveyor but, if the
film has an specific design that must be in a defined position on respect
on the product, in this case it is necessary to superimpose a correction
to the synchronized movement, depending on the detection of a printed
mark in the film pattern.

Design with Mark

Design with no Mark

Fig. 4

Another topic to consider is the slip. When the longitudinal sealer moves
one turn, the plastic film usually moves a bit less than the sealer wheel
perimeter, and this difference depends on several factors as:
- The adherence of the material to be feed.
- The mass of the material to be feed, this factor is very
important when there is no unwinder system.
- The line speed. The faster speed, the more slip.

In some machines, this slip is partially compensated increasing slightly

the synchronization ratio according to the operation characteristics: The
approximate slip is known depending on the plastic material and the
speed and, then, it is compensated following a table or a simple
mathematical operation like:
Synch _ Ratio = 1 + K material ⋅ VLine _ speed
Where Kmaterial depends on the plastic film material.

Another way to compensate the slip is to use an external encoder to

measure the real movement of the plastic and to make the

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synchronization considering this external encoder instead of the

servomotor encoder.

If the slip is compensated in one or other way, the corrections for the
mark will be very small. This is the desired behavior.

The last comment is that a few machine makers consider this axis as
the machine master axis, and the correction is done in the other axes.
This is not the most usual way of doing it, anyway.

* * *

THE PRESS BELT

The press belt is synchronized with the Main Conveyor. It consists in an

upper belt (and sometimes a lower belt too) that guides the bag and the
product from the longitudinal sealer to the horizontal sealer.

The mission is to guide the product, this is specially important when the
machine is packing products that can move or roll easily because of
their rounded shape or its low weight.

* * *

THE TRANSVERSAL SEALER

The horizontal sealer consists on two rotary cylinders that have one, two
or four heated seal heads (in some machines this can be changeable to
pack a wider product range). A servomotor drives this cylinder.

This axis must be synchronized with the main conveyor during the angle
where the sealing is done, and must change the speed in the other
angles in such a way that during one sealing cycle of the sealer, the
main conveyor has fed one product.

This movement changes when the product length changes and/or the
number of seal heads changes.

* * *

THE UNWINDER

One optional device is the unwinder. For the smaller machines, the
longitudinal sealer is, at the same time, unwinding the plastic from the
coil. But this system is valid if the plastic coil is not very big and the
plastic is rather rigid so, it is not deformed by excessive tension during
the acceleration. Usually it exists some kind of accumulator system.

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Omron ATC-Europe
Application Notes

For bigger plastic coils and delicate material it is usual to have some
kind of unwinding system and a material accumulator. Those unwinding
systems tend to be very simple as no precision is required. Normally it is
used an AC motor with a frequency inverter in speed or PID control.

Another possibility is to have a servo unwinding tangentially in

synchronization with the longitudinal sealer. As the machine is running
continuously, that servo has small size and the accumulation system is
not needed.

* * *

SPECIFICATION EXAMPLE:

A typical specification of a horizontal flow wrapper machine can be as it

is shown in the table below:

ITEM VALUE
Bag Width 10 mm minimum up to 300 mm maximum
Bag Length 40 mm minimum up to 410 mm maximum
Bag high 1 mm min. to 90 mm max.
Machine Speed 120 pack/min (Single Horizontal sealer Jaw)
200 pack/min (Double Horizontal sealer Jaw)
Power Requirements 220-240Vac single phase, 4.5 KW
Film Width 650 mm
Maximum Roll Diameter 350 mm
Machine Finish Stainless Steel
Machine dimensions 4440mm L x 965 mm W x 1820 mm H
Available Option Film feed (Unwinder)
Print registration system

c. The necessities and requirements for the motion control.

The machine consist on the next axes

- Main conveyor.
- The longitudinal sealer.
- The press belt.
- The transversal sealer.
- The product introduction (necessary, but can be considered a
different machine).
- Unwinder (optional)

The unwinder, if it exists, is usually one inverter with an embedded PID.

The PID is executed in the inverter and the setpoint is set from the
Motion controller (although it tends to be a fixed value). In modern
systems, inverter are controlled in similar way than servos using a
common motion bus.

The movements of the machine are basically synchronized movements,

that is, the position of one axis (the slave) depends on the position of

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another axis (the master). All the correction must be made ‘On the fly’,
that is, while the machine is moving.

The next diagram shows the sequence of a complete cycle:

Main
conveyor MASTER
Speed

Registration Registration Time

Longitudinal
Seal Speed

Time
Press belt
Speed

Time
Transversal
sealer speed

Fig. 5 1 Prod Time

The Main conveyor is usually considered as the machine master and is

moving at a constant speed defined by the machine operator.
Nevertheless, it usually gives better performance to define a virtual axis
as master of the machine and to link the Main conveyor to this virtual
master with a ratio of 1:1.

The rest of the axes will make their movements following the (virtual)
master. So, for the virtual master we need
- Speed control

And for the main conveyor we need

- Synchronization (to the virtual master)

The longitudinal sealer is working in synchronization with the virtual

master, needs to have the possibility to superimpose a correction based
in a printed mark and to connect an external encoder to make the
synchronization based in the real plastic position. So:
- Synchronization.
- Mark correction.
- Superimposing movements.
- External encoder connection (full closed encoder).

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The Press belt is running in synchronization with the virtual master axis.
So:
- Synchronization.

The transversal sealer has the most complex movement. Needs to be

synchronized with the products during a certain angle (the angle during
which the seal heads are sealing the bag) and speed up or slow down
in coordination with the master depending on the bag length. So:
- CAM table
- Possibility to change the CAM during program execution.

The product introduction uses to be a separate machine. There are a

wide variety of product introductory systems, depending on the product.
As an example we will propose a system based in belts and
registrations. This introductory consist on three different conveyor belts:
The first one is full of products coming from the production line. The
second one is running at a higher speed than the first one to separate
the products, and the third one detects the product and position it in
synchronization with the main conveyor. Nevertheless, product
introduction is a separate machine and, so, it out of the scope of this
document.

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d. The Omron solution with SYSMAC NJ

- General overview of the solution.

This is the proposed Omron solution for horizontal flow

wrapper machines.

NS5-SQ11B-V2
MX2
UNWINDER

ETHERNET-IP
NJ301-1200

E
ETHERCAT

G5-ETHERCAT
G5-ETHERCAT TRANSVERSAL
PRESS BELT SEALER

G5-ETHERCAT G5-ETHERCAT
MAIN CONVEYOR LONGITUDINAL Fig. 6
SEALER

The proposed solution is based in the SYSMAC NJ motion

controller.

- How the Omron solution match the machine requirements.

The solution based in SYSMAC NJ match perfectly the

machine requirements.

Regarding the performance, the SYSMAC NJ is an advanced

machine controller that supports registration correction,
external encoder and advanced movements as
synchronization, CAM profiles, virtual axes, etc..

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Application Notes

Besides, the SYSMAC NJ can also handle the machine

sequence by the addition of remote I/O’s. It has a variety of
possible communication interfaces to communicate with any
upper controller or other third party components in the
machine, although the Embedded Ethernet-IP is the
recommended one

The SYSMAC NJ is programmed using IEC61131-3

programming standard, supporting Ladder & Structured Text
languages with standard PLC-Open motion blocks.

The SYSMAC NJ controls the servomotors using the high

performance Ether-CAT motion bus. EtherCAT sends
cyclicaly and deterministically the position reference to the
servodrives. The system dramatically reduces the wiring of
the machine because the connections to the servodrives is
done by using cheap and widely available standard EtherNET
cables (Category 5 or higher). That reduces cost of cables
and installation manpower compared with the traditional pulse
or analogue solutions. In addition, EtherCAT adds additional
performance as you can access to all drive features from a
single connection point, including read/write parameters,
tuning, trace, diagnostics, etc.

The inverter also is connected to the same Ether-CAT

network and is handled in the same way than a servodrive (in
speed control in this case), this simplifies also the wiring and
the engineering hours.

The ACCURAX G5 servodrives with embedded EtherCAT

interface (R88D-KNxxxx-ECT) controls the servomotor. The
position loop is performed in the servodrive so, it is quick and
independent on the number of axes. Besides, it has
registration input and connection for the external encoder for
the slip compensation. All this without additional boards.

ACCURAX G5 is the servo with the highest bandwidth (faster

dynamic response) in the market (at January 2011).

The servodrives also have embedded Safety (STO) to match

the safety regulations in a simple way. Up to 8 servodrives
can be connected to a single safety relay.

The MX2 Inverter, with the EtherCAT interface module has an

embedded PID that is used to control the unwinder so, the
motion controller simply gives the PID reference and the
sequence commands (run, stop, reset, …) via EtherCAT.

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Omron ATC-Europe
Application Notes

The user interface typically is an NS touch screen HMI that

provides a friendly graphic and intuitive environment to the
machine operator. Besides we can make all the necessary
machine adjustments, have a complete diagnostics and make
all the operations from this single point. The HMI is
connected to the SYSMAC NJ via Ethernet-IP protocol in a
transparent way for the programmer.

- Part list and details about the products:

MOTION CONTROLLER

1x NJ301-1200 Machine controller

1x NJ-PA3001 Power supply

SERVO SYSTEM

4x R88M-K75030H-S2 750W,3000rpm
servomotor
4x R88D-KN08H-ECT 800W, EtherCAT
servodrive
4x R88A-CAKA005SR-E Motor power cable
4x R88A-CRKA005CR-E Motor encoder cable
4x R88A-FIK107-RE Filters
1x R88A-CNW01C IO connector (to
connect the
registration)
4x R88A-CSK003S-E Safety connector cable
(3m)

INVERTER

1x MX2AB007-E MX2 Inverter 1.1KW

1x 3G3AX-MX2-ECT EtherCAT interface

HMI

1x NS5-SQ11B-V2 HMI with Ethernet

OTHER

1x E3M-VG16 Fast photocell for

registration
1x G9SB-2002A-24V Safety relay

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Omron ATC-Europe
Application Notes

3. MACHINE SECTIONS.

In this section it is described in detail the different sections of the machine and
the way of solving it with the Omron products. It includes technical description
of the different topics and references to the different program examples.

a. The main conveyor:

The main conveyor consists on a belt where the products are traveling
in predefined position. In most cases, this distance is guaranteed by
some mechanical
spacers in the belt
(see the picture). Product to be Spacer
That means that, for packed
changing the
product format, it is
necessary to change
those mechanical
spacers. In some
other cases, a
product introduction
system is the
responsible to do
that action. This axis
is the machine
Fig. 7
master, and is
working in speed
control. The speed of the machine is usually described in bags/minute
and is selected in the HMI. The rest of the axes in the machine are
making their movement in synchronization with this axis

In the more simple machines, this main conveyor is an AC motor with

an encoder, in this case, Sysmac NJ reads this encoder, that is the
Master encoder. In the more complex machines, the main conveyor is a
controlled servodrive.

In practice, it is better that the machine has a virtual master and the
main conveyor is linked 1:1 to this virtual master.

The program is as simple as a SPEED function (see the program

example below).

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The speed is updated via a variable written from the HMI

The entire machine is referred to the product position so, it is necessary

some kind of homing or start sequence to be sure that the machine start
with the products in the right position.

TECHNICAL HINT
What is a virtual axis?

A virtual axis is one axis that exists internally in a motion controller for computational
purposes. You can order any movement to this virtual axis as it was a real one and you can
read the position that is updated every motion cycle. In fact, a virtual axis can be considered
just a “profile generator”, based in the motion commands, a command position is generated
every motion cycle. As there is no position loop, the feedback position is equal to the
command position and the following error is zero.

VIRTUAL AXIS

MOTION
COMMANDS FROM
PROGRAM

MOVE...
CAM...
JOG...
PROFILE COMMAND = FEEDBACK
GENERATOR POSITION POSITION

The “command position in the virtual axis is used in the program for calculation, to add this
profile to a real axes, etc.

The actions that require the use of an external input (Latch, Pot/Not, …) are not available in
a virtual axis.

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TECHNICAL HINT
Why we need a “virtual machine master”

When, in a machine, all the axes make movements linked to another axis that is the master, we have
two potential problems that are solved by the use of a virtual axis.

LONG.
SEALER

MAIN
PRESS
CONVEYOR

TRANSV.
SEALER
Transmitted vibration

If the Master has some undesired vibration, this vibration is transmitted to the slave.

Slave
Master Ratio 1:1 Speed
Speed

Time Time

There is vibration Vibration is transmitted

The master axis tends to be a “low rigid axis” (material feed, conveyor) so, the vibration is smoothed
but the slave axes tends to be “high rigid axis” so, a small vibration tends to be amplified.

Synchronization delays:

When a slave follows a master the slave always has a certain delay due to bus transmissions,
conversions and adjustments.

The slave is delayed by a number of cycles compared to the master (although this can be
minimized by synchronizing with the master command, in case the master is a controlled
axis)

Master
Speed

Time

Ratio 1:1
There is Delay

Slave
Speed

Time

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TECHNICAL HINT
With the use of a virtual axis, Those potential problems can be eliminated.

LONG
SEALER

TRANS
SEALER
VIRTUAL 1

MAIN PRESS
CONVEYOR BELT

Transmitted vibration.

If we use a virtual axis as Master There are no vibration at all!

“Real
Ratio 1:1 master”
Speed
Master
Speed
There is vibration

Time Slave
There is no vibration Speed

Time
Vibration is not transmitted

Synchronization delays

The “Real master” and the slave have the same delay so, no relative delay

Virtual
Master
Speed

Time
Ratio 1:1

There is Delay

“Real
master”
Speed

Time
There is NO Delay

Slave
Speed

Time

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Application Notes

This is the code if we have a Virtual master axis and the Main conveyor
follows it

b. Longitudinal sealer

The longitudinal sealer has two working modes: Without registration

mark and with registration mark.

When the plastic film is

of a single color or has Plastic film
External encoder
a random pattern there
for slip
is no need to position
compensation
the plastic in a certain
position relative to the E
product, then we are
working without Printed
registration mark. In mark
this case the
movement is simply Bag and
synchronization 1:1 product in the
with the master axis. ‘right’ position
To compensate the Mechanical
effect of the slip we mandrel for bag
have two options: to forming
change the
synchronization ratio,
as explained in section Longitudinal
2.b. or to keep the ratio sealer.
1:1 and to use an
external encoder in a Fig. 8
‘Full closed loop’

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configuration.

If the plastic film has a certain design we have to put the design in a
certain position relative to the product, for this we need:
- To detect the difference between the real position of the
design and the expected position.
- To apply the correction while keeping the synchronization

A registration mark allows to capture the position of the reference mark

exactly in the moment it occurs with microsecond delay. Comparing this
position with the expected position (fixed value) we have the error to be
corrected.

To apply the correction in the fly while keeping the synchronization we

have a Motion Function block specially designed for this:
MC_PHASING. This block behaves like in Figure 9

COMPOSED MOVEMENT
Longitudinal
Registration Registration
Seal Speed
Total
movement

Time

=
Longitudinal SYNCHRONISATION
Seal Speed
Synch. With
master
Time
Phase
correction
+
PTP MOVEMENT

Time
Fig. 9

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TECHNICAL HINT
Why the registration is needed?

When we have a design that must be centered in the pack, showing the brand logo, etc,
we can never guarantee that the ‘design length’ is exactly same that the ‘product length’.
Note that we use the word ‘product length but it includes the gap between products too.
Of course, both lengths are nearly same, but the precision is never infinite… And the
error is accumulative!!

For example, if the product length is 100mm (guaranteed by the spacers) but the real
pattern is 100.1 mm and we have no correction, we are accumulating an error of 0.1mm
per pack. Of course, in a few packs we will not note the difference but, after 500 packs,
we will have an error of 50 mm!!!

Using the mark, every pack we correct the difference between the desired position and
the real position of the mark respect on the product. The correction is very small and do
not affect to the dynamics. And besides, if we loose one mark some other time, nothing
happens, the error in one bag is very small and will be corrected in the next one.
∆d 50∆d 500∆d When the mark
is detected
here...

After 1 pack After 50 packs After 500 packs

WITHOUT CORRECTION
… the product is
supposed to be here. Any
difference must be corrected.

Fig. 10

In Fig.10 you can see the displacement in the printed pattern when the
product is packaged without the print correction.

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TECHNICAL HINT
How the G5 captures the registration?

The G5 has three fast registration inputs with a delay of about 7µs and two hardware latch circuits
(that means that we can capture two of them at the same time). This latch captures in real time the
position of the axis in the moment that the latch input has a rising edge.

The encoder in the motor is a serial encoder that sends its position every 82µs to the drive. The position
of the motor in the precise moment in which the mark arrived is the result of the interpolation between
two consecutive samples. The result is very accurated.

This value is sent to the motion controller via EtherCAT to apply the correction in a transparent way
for the user.
Position

82µs Time

In all the cases, there is a synchronized movement to the master axis.

When the registration is used, we register the position of the

longitudinal sealer axis in the moment that the mark is detected by the
sensor.

It is not necessary to correct against the product because it comes in a

known position.

The difference between the “registered” position (Where the mark is)
and the “theoretical” position of the mark (where the mark was
supposed to be) gives the phase that we must advance (or delay).

MC_PHASING superimposes a point-to-point movement that

correspond with that phase. Many times we correct just a percentage of
this phase for stability reasons. See the program below.

The correction is expected to be small so, we put limits to the maximum

correction distance and also to the speed of this correction.

Sometimes some parts of the bag design are detected as marks. To

distinguish between the design patter and the real mark it is possible to
use “windowing”, that means that every mark detected outside a set
window position is ignored.

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Application Notes

Note: All the pieces of code in this document have been tested and are
supposed to be correct but in order to guarantee a good
understanding of the main movements, the programs have been
simplified. In a real machine, the user must add the necessary
sequence handling, HMI interface, manual modes, stop/start
sequence, etc.

As the axis is counting always in the same direction, the position

counter is always counting up.

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To make the proper comparison of the “real Latch position” with the
“expected latch position” and to avoid that the position counter is
counting-up indefinitely and reaches overflow (that is annoying to
handle), it is necessary to reset the count position back to zero after
every cycle. The command to do that operation is MC_SETPOSITION.

If the mark, for any reason, does not arrive, the feeder moves the
theoretical bag distance with no correction. One missing mark does not
affect to the operation of the machine because the error is small so it
continues working. But if we start missing many consecutive marks, that
means that something goes wrong (broken paper, dirty photocell, …)
and the machine must stop. For this, we keep a counter of “missing
consecutive marks” that is resetted when a valid mark is received.

TECHNICAL HINT
How the Full closed encoder works?

In many application we have a servomotor that is moving the material via a mechanical
transmission. Due to this mechanical transmission, the movement in the material do not
corresponds with the movement in the motor so we want to put an external encoder that is
measuring the real position of the material, and to make the positioning using this external
encoder as feedback.

The position loop uses the external encoder, but the other loops (speed loop and torque loop
follows the motor encoder, as it is shown in the drawing.

As a recommendation, if the slip is quite big, it is recommended to decrease the gains in the
position loop.

External Encoder

Speed Loop Torque Loop E

- +
P PI
Position + -
Reference

Position Loop
Motor Encoder

Connecting the external encoder is very easy. The G5 has connector

CN4 encoder.

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Application Notes

To activate the “Full closed encoder” in the G5, you have to change
next parameters:
− Pn001 (Object 3001.00hex)=6 “Enable Full closed control”
− Pn323 to Pn328 for the external encoder setup

See the G5 manual for

details.
There is no necessary
to make changes in the
application program.
Note, to change from/to
Full closed control and
other modes is
necessary to power off-
on the drive after
changing Pn001
parameter

Fig. 10

The program is exactliy same than using the motor encoder.

c. The press belt.

The press belt is moving simply synchronized with the virtual master at
a ratio of 1:1. The mission is to keep the shape of the bag and to avoid
that the product is moving on respect on the paper, as at this point of
the machine there is no spacers
that keeps the product in the right Plastic film tube Product
position. This is especially
important with products with round
shape that can roll.

The high of this axis is

mechanically adjustable to adapt
to the bag high.

As in the longitudinal sealer, it is

better to synchronize with the Press belt
virtual master to eliminate the
synchronization delay due to the
Fig. 12
motion bus.

The final program is as simple as a single MC_GearIn command:

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An improved version will be to use a MC_PHASING instead so, apart

from keeping the synchronization we can make small advancements or
delays in order to keep the right tension in the plastic firm.

Of course it is necessary to add all the sequence to start, stop, etc, but
the motion part is just this one.

d. The transversal sealer.

The transversal sealer has to seal the bags in the transversal direction
while the packs are moving in the
conveyor so the pack is Sealer with two
completely sealed (and, normally, seal jaws installed
cutted at the same time).

Some machines allow a variable

number of sealing Jaws: 1, 2 or 4
Jaws, increasing the number of Pack completely
Jaws allows the machine to go finished
faster when the bag length is
small.

The movement of the horizontal

sealer is rotatory and has a
‘natural length’ that is the
perimeter of the horizontal sealer,
divided by the number of Jaws, Transversal sealer Fig. 13
that is:

2π ⋅ JawRadius
Natural _ sealer _ lenght =
N _ Jaws

The conditions that the movement must match are:

- While the main axis moves one bag length, the sealer
moves one ‘natural length’ (that is, one turn in case of
using one Jaw).
- During the angle where the Jaw is sealing the bag, the
movement must be synchronized 1:1.

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So, if the product length is longer than the natural length of the sealer,
after the synchronization area the sealer must decrease its speed or
even stop.

If the product length is shorter than the natural length of the sealer, after
the synchronization area, the sealer must increase its speed.

And if the product length is equal to the natural length, the movement is
a synchronization 1:1.

See that graphically in the next figure:

Synchronization
during sealing angle
Sealer Speed
Speed
Master Speed

Area: Sealer Time

natural length Area: Product lenght

Speed
Natural_Lenght > Product Length

Time
Speed Natural_Lenght = Product Length

Time
Speed Natural_Lenght < Product Length

Time
Speed Natural_Lenght << Product Length

Time
Fig. 14

The limit condition between the last two cases (decreasing speed to
completely stop depends on the selected ramps but, in the limit, it is:

2 ∗ Natural _ Lenght − Synchronisation _ area = Pr oduct _ Lenght

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Speed 2*Natural_Length-Synch = Product Length

Time
Fig. 15

To make this kind of complex calculation we will use CAM movements.

The different CAMs will be pre-calculated but a scaling will be
necessary to adjust to the different bag lengths.

In practice, the shapes are not trapezoidal but S-shaped for smooth
movement. We draw trapezoidal profile just for the simplicity of the
explanation

The program that perform that operation is something like:

As the Bag length can be whatever and can be changed depending on

the production needs, the CAM cannot be fixed and needs to be re-
calculated everytime the bag length is changed.

We do not show here the complete calculation, but we will give a couple
of hints about the best way to do it:

As in the longitudinal sealer, the strategy is to separate one complex

movement in two simple ones. One movement is the synchronization,

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and another one is the difference between natural length and product
length:

Speed Total movement:

Natural length<Product length

Time
=
Speed Synchronization:
Natural length=Product length

Speed
+
Adjustment=
Time

Natural length-Product length

Time
This Movement starts just
after the synchronization Fig. 16

In the calculation of the CAM we can sum 2 curves, one that is

SLAVE=MASTER and the other that is the correction.

In the program we distinguish three different situations

a) Product length>sealer perimeter
b) Product length<sealer perimeter.
c) Product length<< sealer perimeter (stop is needed)
The correction is calculated differently in every case.
The simple way is to use a trapezoidal profile, as the mathematics is
simple, but we recommend to use a 3 degree polynom, as the profile is
more smooth so the mechanics does not suffer so much.

The Horizontal sealer needs to know the absolute position inside one
turn so it needs a homing system. One good alternative to the homing
system is to use absolute encoders, the big advantage is that it is
possible an automatic restart of the machine after an emergency stop.

Registration (mark correction) is not needed in the sealer as it is done in

the longitudinal sealer so, it is guaranteed that the film arrives in the
right position.

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e. The unwinder.

The unwinder is an optional device that not all the machines have. If
this device is not existing, it is the longitudinal sealer who is unwinding,
at the same time that feeds the plastic film.

An unwinding is convenient when the plastic film is delicate and can

stretch due to the tension or when the coil diameter is very big.

There are different possibilities for the unwinder:

- One servodrive running synchronously with the
longitudinal sealer. Although a servodrive is more
expensive than an AC motor, the advantage of this
system is that does not need any accumulation system so
you save in the mechanics price.
- One inverter with an accumulation system, running with a
PID system or other similar.

Next diagram shows a diagram of a MX2 inverter working with a PID

System.

Here you can see a diagram showing this last configuration: Unwinding
with a PID.

PID
Calculation Inverter
Setpoint
P gain External
A72
Process
Error Freq. Motor
I gain
+ A73
+

D gain Sensor
A74

Process Variable (PV)

Fig. 12

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PID diagram in MX2 drive

Setpoint
via
EtherCAT
and
application
program.

Fig. 13

The principle of operation is next:

- You adjust a potentiometer in the dancer arm in the
accumulation in such a way that when the accumulator is empty (arm in
the top in Fig. 12) the voltage is zero and when the accumulator is full
(arm in the bottom in Fig. 12) it gives 10Vdc. We connect this input to an
analogue input in the MX2 inverter and we configure it as PID feedback.
- We adjust the PID target to a fixed value, for example, 50%. If
the potentiometer gives less than 5V, the accumulator is becoming full,
the error is negative and that means that we have to decrease speed.
- If the potentiometer gives more than 5V, the accumulator is
becoming empty, the error is positive and that means that we have to
increase speed to fill it again.
- As that process uses to be slow, we will program small gains to
have smooth movements without sudden speed changes.

The advantage of one configuration like this one is that the unwinder
works independently of the rest of the machine.

In addition, all system, independently if they have unwinder system or

not, have a sensor to detect if the coil is empty. The machine stops the
operation if the coil finishes.

The control of the inverter in Sysmac NJ is just by writing the command

reference in a variable and sending the run command by setting a bit in
a command word. We will program the inverter to activate the PID so,
the speed reference is not taken as speed but as PID setpoint.

The settings in the MX2 are:

A.71=1 to enable the PID
A.76=1 to select the feedback signal as Voltage analogue input

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A.78=100 (or other value) to select the limit level of PID effect

And the Variable name is defined in the IO map in Sysmac Studio:

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4. THE MACHINE OPERATION AND CONFIGURATION:

To program and configure the application you need to use Sysmac

Studio.

With this software tool you can make your application programs and
also you can access to the servodrives and inverter parameters from a
single connection point. It is also possible to make tuning, traces and
even frequency analisi in the servodrives.

We have EtherCAT connection for the servodrives, inverter and, if

necessary, IO’s and EtherNET connection for the HMI, software tool
and possible upper controller.

All parameter in the application like: operation speeds, lengths of the

movements, wait times, photocell offsets, etc are programmed as global
variables that can be set and read from the HMI (those selected as
“Publish Only”).

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THE MACHINE OPERATION AND FLOW DIAGRAM.

To control the sequence of the machine we propose the next simplified

machine state:

As you can see from section 3, making an application program for a

Flow wrapper machine is not complicated. Sometimes it is more time
consuming to program all the sequence around the cyclic machine
operation, that is:
− To make the necessary configuration after power-up.
− To take care of the fault handling: stop the machine in the
right way and report alarms properly.
− Change from different modes smoothly (manual
automatic).

In order to simplify this operation it is necessary that the machine flow

diagram is very clear. We propose the flow diagram shown in Fig14.

The state machine we propose consists on next 5 states:

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- Initialization: Only one time after power on to make sure

that all variables have right values and make the initial
checkings that the application requires..
- Stop without alarms: No movements and no alarms.
Machine is waiting for commands.
- Stop with Alarm: No movements, no Power in servos
and one or more alarms. If it is necessary some diagnostic
routine, include it here.
- Automatic mode: Machine working according to the
receipe. The data of the receipe is usually entered via the
HMI or via factory supervision system.
- Manual mode: Manual movements or individual
movements like manual feed to adjust and prepare the
machine

And the next transitions:

− From “Stop without alarm” to “Automatic mode”:

Consist in enabling the servos, activate the unwinder and,
when ready, change to automatic mode. This transition is
enabled if we match some conditions.
− From “Automatic mode” to “Stop without alarm”. Wait
until the cycle of movements is finished and disable the
servos
− From “Stop without alarm” to “Manual mode”: Enable
manual movements if the conditions for this are matched.
− From “Manual mode” to “Stop without alarm”: Cancel
all manual movements and disable servodrives.
− From any state to “Stop with alarm”: Cancel any
movement and disable all servos.
− From “Stop with alarm” to “Stop without alarm”:
Reset all alarms.

Then, you can focus all your efforts in the machine operation itself.
Of course, the details change from one machine to another.

After power on, the machine goes to Standby mode, that is, all the
motors stopped and no movement. The machine operator can select
either to go to manual mode or automatic mode.

Manual mode is the mode used to prepare the machine (for example, to
pass the plastic film through all the machine) the operations that can be
done in this mode are:
- Homing the transversal sealer and the main conveyor.
- Jog the longitudinal sealer (forward & reverse) and stop
after the mark (not explained in the examples) and the
rest of the axes
- Make an individual bag operation

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- Return to start position

- Start/stop the unwinder manually

All those axes movements can be commanded from the HMI just by
setting the suitable bits, or can be commanded internally from an NJ
program.

Automatic mode is the automatic operation explained in detail in this

document. This automatic operation is programmed in NJ.

If the machine operator push the stop button or other stop condition
occurs (as the ‘empty coil’ sensor), the machine returns to Standby.

If any error occurs, the machine performs an emergency stop and goes
to alarm status. When the error is corrected and resetted the machine
returns to Standby.

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5. ADVANCED MACHINE OPERATION

In this section we are going to discuss two advanced functions that the most
advanced machines have, that improves the performance of the machine and
add more functionality. That functionality is rather easy to implement with
SYSMAC NJ.

a. No product no feed.

Packaging certain products, the wrapping material can be even more

expensive that the product to be packed. In order to save material, if
one product is not coming in the main conveyor, we do not want to feed
the plastic film corresponding to this product and have an empty bag
without product.

A product can be missed for several reasons: An error in the product

introduction, a rejection during the quality checking, etc.

NORMAL OPERATION
A product missed in the main conveyor
means an empty bag after the
longitudinal sealer.

NO PRODUCT NO FEED OPERATION

A product missed in the main conveyor
but all the bags are full after the
longitudinal sealer.

Fig. 22

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There are 2 possible strategies:

- The main conveyor speeds up for a moment to “advance” the

lost product.

This strategy is valid if only one product is missing (so we do not have
to advance a big space in a short time) and the machine is not going to
full speed (so we have a margin to accelerate and speed up the main
conveyor.

- The rest of the machine stops and waits that the “empty product”
passes and re-start when the new one is coming.

In this document we will study the second alternative.

The easier way to implement this function is to use a new intermediate

virtual axis. The main conveyor synchronizes with the new virtual
master, the rest of the axes synchronizes with the old virtual master,
and the new virtual is slave of the old virtual master. So, if the products
comes normally, the new virtual is synchronized with the old virtual and
the machine works normally as before. If the product is not coming, the
new virtual axis disengage from the old (and then, all the axes
connected to it will also disengage). When a new product comes we
establish the connection again.

The distance without synchronization must correspond with one product

length.

LONG.
VIRTUAL SEALER
MASTER

PRESS BELT
AUXILIARY
VIRTUAL

MAIN
CONVEYOR
TRANSV.
SEALER

Fig. 23

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Main
conveyor
Speed

No product Time
VIRTUAL
MASTER Speed

Time
AUXILIARY SYNCHRONIZATION
VIRTUAL
Speed
Time

Transversal
sealer speed

Fig. 24
1 Prod Time

The best way to establish and disconnect a synchronization controlling

exactly the point and distance is by using CAMS.
- During normal running the CAM is 1:1
- During disengagement the CAM is deceleration & Stop
- While no product is coming we keep stopped
- During engagement the CAM is acceleration to synchronization.
The CAM’s are scaled by the length of one bag.

In the program we add a new auxiliary axis

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The Main conveyor part remains as before. The code for theTransversal
sealer and press belt is the same with the only difference that, now, the
Master is the new Auxiliary Virtual master.

This is just one illustrative part of the changed previous code.

b. No gap no seal

It is possible that, occasionally, the product can move inside the pack
before the horizontal sealing is done. The reason why this may happen
can be, for example, that the product is defective, that the press belt is
not properly adjusted, etc.

If, in that situation, the sealing is done, the machine will be stopped
because the sealer crashes with the product. The possible effects
depends on the machine and the products to be packaged, but can be
serious like:

- The sealer motor will trip by an overload and stop.

- The seal jaw will be dirty with the product and you have to
clean it. Considering that the jaw is warm and the product
can be burn or melted, this represent quite a big mess.
- If the Jaw is delicate and the product hard, you can even
damage the Jaw.

It is clear that, although this effect is not likely to occur, if this happens,
it is a big trouble that can stop the production during a long time so, it is
clever to find a way to avoid the situation.

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! STOP

If it is detected that there is a

product in the gap, the
transversal sealer must skip
one sealing cycle. Fig. 25

The solution is to detect the “gap” via the suitable sensor. That mean, to
verify that in the space dedicated to the sealing there is no product. In
this case the standard sealing is done.

On the contrary, if the “gap” is not detected, that mean that there is a
product in the sealing zone and we must skip one sealing operation:

Detection of next
product inside the
GAP
The next movement
Main must be a stop
conveyor MASTER during a product
Speed length

Time
Go to “Stop” position
Wait
Accelerate to
Transversal synchronization
sealer speed

Fig. 26 1 Prod Time

For programming that, we will follow similar strategy that for the “no
product, no feed” functionality, that is, we execute a certain CAM table
that, normally is the normal cycle for the cut and, depending on the
information from the “gap sensor” when the current cycle finishes, we
will change the current CAM by a new one.

The different possible cases are:

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- Gap OK: CAM for normal cut cycle

- Cutting and next product has no gap: CAM for
Deceleration to stop.
- Current product has no gap and next one also has no gap:
STOPPED during a bag length.
- Current product has no gap but next one has: Accelerate
to continue normal cut.

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In the example above the signal for the gap detection is a local variable.
Use the suitable signal in your machine.

When designing the different CAMS, the sequence and the start
position of the sealer, consider that in the “Stop” position, the sealer
does not have mechanical contact with the product.

When a bag with no gap is coming we stop to a safe position and keep
stopped while products without gaps are coming. When the gap comes
again, we start a new movement considering the current stop position
and continue the cycle normally.

In fig 27 you can see a drawing with the movements in case of a “no
gap no seal movement”. In the example we draw a sealer with two Jaws
so, the natural length corresponds with 180º of the sealer cylinder.

End of sealing Go to Stop Wait for next Accelerate to

synchronizatio position product. synchronizatio
n n

Transversal
sealer speed

1 Prod
Fig. 27

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6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Omron is the right partner to support you in automating your horizontal flow
wrapper machine.

The system is easy to install and to program. This shortens the machine
production time and simplifies the commissioning.

Omron has a deep knowledge an experience in the packaging industry and we

will use this to support you.

The program examples are available and can be used freely with the
understanding that are simply examples and the code can be used as a
guideline but needs to be adapted to the particular machine needs.

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NOTES

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Omron ATC-Europe
Josep Pla 2, Building B2, 10th Floor.
E-08019 BARCELONA
Spain

Printed in April 2011