Flexibility À La Cart: How Oems Can Build More Flexible, Reliable Machines Using Independent Cart Technology
Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Well, the bad news is that customers are asking for more flexible, more durable, longer-lasting, faster machines at a competitive price. If you can’t meet those demands, you risk losing business to other OEMs. Yikes. The good news is that incorporating independent cart technology into your machines can help you meet those demands. Here’s how you can get an edge on your competition by using independent cart technology to build more flexible, reliable machines.
MORE THROUGHPUT WITH FLEXIBLE MOTION CONTROL
Like a traditional conveyor system, independent cart technology helps you move items from point A to point B on your machine. The advantage of independent cart technology is that it allows you to control the speed and location of each individual container rather than moving everything along at a fixed speed. After all, different machine processes take different amounts of time. Why should one process slow down every other process?
If everything on a conveyor is moving at a fixed speed and spaced at a fixed distance, the whole line can only move as fast as the time it takes to perform the slowest process. With independent cart technology, the speed and pitch, or distance between objects, can vary at different stages of production.
How does it work? If Process A takes two seconds to complete and Process B takes four seconds, you can perform Process A twice while Process B is still in progress. With a traditional flighted conveyor system, Process A would have to wait for Process B to finish before it could perform the process again, meaning Process A would take twice as long. The result is fewer bottlenecks and more throughput in less time.
ADD FLEXIBILITY FOR YOUR FLOOR SPACE
There’s also more throughput in less space. You only have so much factory floor space, and as production demand grows, it’s costly to add more space. How do you make the most of the space you have? Because you can control the position of each individual container, you no longer have to space containers out evenly along the line. Instead, you can have a variable pitch at different checkpoints and more efficiently use your space.
See how the carts move at a variable speed and pitch.
If it used to take a 100-foot conveyor system to get the throughput you needed, it might only take 70 feet with independent cart technology. That means you can either add more equipment to the floor or do more with less space without sacrificing the flexibility of the machine.
ADAPT FOR FLEXIBLE DEPLOYMENT AND SCALABILITY
The flexibility to adjust speed and position with independent cart technology means your machine can do a lot of different things, and changing it over to perform different functions is much quicker and easier. Instead of having to manually swap out parts and make adjustments for a machine changeover, simply push a button, and everything will go to its new setpoint.
BE RELIABLE AND SAFE (FOR YOU AND YOUR CUSTOMERS)
Independent cart technology runs off Rockwell Automation’s Kinetix® 5700 system, which is the same system many OEMs are currently using in their equipment. This means the implementation and learning curve are very minimal, and it comes with the same integrated safety system that allows you to build safer machines for you and your customers. As you are testing and developing the machine, it’s safe to work on because the servo drives allow you to monitor the system and set parameters over ethernet.
With the Kinetix system, you can monitor position, speed and current point then set thresholds to disable movement during conditions when an operator could be in harm’s way. Your customers will thank you too – they are utilizing the machine every day, so they benefit from the added safety as well.
INCREASE MACHINE LONGEVITY FOR LONG-TERM RELIABILITY
When there are fewer moving parts on a machine, there aren’t as many opportunities for it to break down. With independent cart technology, there are 40-50% fewer mechanical components. Why is that? While traditional machines require chains, belts, gearboxes and other mechanics, independent cart technology uses electromagnetic propulsion to precisely control movement through frictionless motion. With no moving parts required to generate motion, motors have a Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) over 20 years. That means your machine designs last longer, and you can schedule less downtime.
UTILIZE INSIGHTS FOR GREATER RELIABILITY
You probably know that it’s more efficient to schedule maintenance before problems occur than to fix them afterwards. That’s why independent cart technology makes your machine smarter, so you can more easily schedule preventative maintenance.
Because each cart is controlled individually, you can see when it’s starting to require more torque to move a specific cart. That shows you that there is a bearing starting to wear out, allowing you to schedule maintenance around your production schedule rather than having an unexpected line down situation. With a smarter machine, you can prescribe what needs to be repaired and repair it at your convenience, instead of waiting for it to fail.
LEARN MORE ABOUT INDEPENDENT CART TECHNOLOGY
If you would like to learn more about independent cart technology or discuss how you could utilize independent cart technology, we are here to help. Please reach out to your Van Meter account manager, ask to speak with one of our smart machine specialists or fill out the form below.
