RVO Enterprises turns ingredient loading upside down

RVO Enterprises, a food processing solutions provider, has developed a new food processing technology that allows dry ingredients to be transferred from a collapsible intermediate bulk container (IBC) directly to the manufacturing process — the collapsible IBC process integration system (CIPIS). CIPIS comprises two separate machines — the RVO inverter station and the MATCON discharge station. The RVO inverter station’s motion processes rely on precision electronic drive control and motor technology from drives solutions provider SEW-Eurodrive.

The development of CIPIS was driven by lean manufacturing principles. The inverter and loading stations were engineered to produce a complete loading system that minimises waste. CIPIS virtually eliminates manual handling thanks largely to the optimised design of the RVO inverter station. It was a logical step for RVO to choose to implement SEW-Eurodrive’s drive solutions across CIPIS. “It was imperative that the inverter station was equipped with sophisticated motion and control technology and had an easy-to-use control system — here SEW-Eurodrive was invaluable,” says RVO Enterprises Managing Director Wilhelm Harnacke.

The inverter station enables the fast-track transfer of raw product from an IBC to a product-delivery hopper. An empty inverted hopper is lowered — via a pneumatic travel system — on top of an IBC full of raw ingredient. The two are joined and sealed using a pneumatic clamping system. The inverter station’s motor-driven rotator then inverts the IBC/hopper combination, transferring the contents of the IBC into the hopper.

The rotator on the inverter station is driven by an SEW-Eurodrive AC gear motor with brake and encoder, paired with the company’s Movidrive B application inverter. An SEW-Eurodrive drive operator panel (DOP) was incorporated into the control system architecture to allow straightforward operation of the inverter station. The DOP operator interface installed on the inverter station further provides users with step-by-step instructions on how to operate the machine correctly and safely. “In conjunction with RVO Enterprises, SEW-Eurodrive also developed an application-specific series of three-dimensional illustrations for the DOP to simplify operation,” says SEW-Eurodrive technical sales representative Ryan McCabe.
SEW-Eurodrive was able to design a system that doesn’t require a traditional PLC. “The inverter station is controlled using the configurable logic in the Movidrive B, which is integrated with the inverter station’s pneumatic control system, allowing it to monitor cylinder position,” says McCabe. “The Movidrive B’s IPOS positioning and sequence control with encoder feedback is suitable for accurately positioning the rotator so the pneumatic locking system can be activated. Furthermore, Movidrive B’s regenerative DC braking allows larger rotating loads to be stopped quickly and positioned easily.”

Safety is an important consideration for the inverter station. It is fenced on three sides, but is permanently forklift-accessible from the front. This unfenced side is protected by a laser scanner sensor, which is connected to the Movidrive B via the unit’s Category 3-rated safety control circuit.

“When the laser detects movement in the scanned area, the system is shut down,” says McCabe. “We were able to leverage the Movidrive B’s integrated safety feature, which was preferable to equipping the inverter station with dual three-phase emergency stop contactors to drop the power supply to the drive.”

Furthermore, the inverter station’s control system can be integrated with plant-wide control and monitoring systems, as the Movidrive B supports common industrial fieldbus standards, including Profibus and DeviceNet.

According to Harnacke, RVO Enterprises is set to take CIPIS across the globe. “SEW’s ability to supply total project life cycle support in Australia and across the globe sets them apart,” he says. “We need a reliable drive technology partner with the global reputation for excellence. SEW-Eurodrive was the obvious choice, as they can provide the complete end-to-end drive package and ongoing after-sales support.”

SEW-Eurodrive Pty Ltd
www.sew-eurodrive.com.au
www.sew-eurodrive.co.nz