Case Studies

Printing Press Retrofit

Posted in Manufacturing Automation and Intelligence

Summary

A client has an existing machine developed nearly 10 years ago and the motion technology it was based on had reached end-of-life status with one of two printing presses completely nonfunctional. DMC proposed updating the motion amplifiers, motion controller, and PC based HMI to modern technologies.  The goal was to improve machine reliability while maintaining equivalent print quality.

Solution

DMC developed revised software based on existing code, updating the old ISA bus drivers to use Ethernet, changing functionality where needed and converting old-style Acroloop line code to lineless code with variable names in place of memory addresses.  This conversion was relatively quick due to DMC's longstanding tradition of creating modular code.

Once the first of the two presses was operational, the press was left running for a shakedown period to allow the client to gain confidence in the new system.  The client successfully ran the retrofitted press in tandem with the original unit and verified that the new press control was functionally identical to the original press.  The second press was retrofitted and validated with exceptionally few issues.

The new press is a mixture of new and old components that will continue to provide functionality to the client for many more years.

Customer Benefits

  • Machine startup is three times faster
  • The motion controller and PC hardware are independent units, making for easier maintenance
  • The amplifiers have molded cable connections, eliminating future wiring issues
  • The amplifiers have modern software which allows them to be setup via PC with minimal effort
  • Motor tuning is significantly improved with the new control system
  • Remote diagnostics are possible using any form of remote desktop software

Technologies

  •  ACR 9000 motion controllers
  • Compax3 amplifiers
  • Advantech WinXP Embedded HMIs