CHICAGO (July 14, 1:20 p.m. EDT) — Parison out of whack? Barber-Colman Co. and Eurotherm plc extended the open-architecture Maco DS controller at NPE 2000, by showing a new parison controller for blow molding.
Featuring a Windows-based display, the Maco DS offers 100-step parison programming to ensure precise and uniform wall thickness. The screen shows you the thickness set points and values by positioning a cursor along the profile display, making it easy to locate and spot thick or thin spots. Then a pop-up window quickly shows more details about the problem area.
Barber-Colman and Eurotherm are sister companies and subsidiaries of London-based Invensys plc. Invensys was formed in early 1999 by the merger of British engineering firms BTR plc and Siebe plc.
The Maco DS, first shown at K´98 in Düsseldorf, Germany, replaces Barber-Colman´s rack-based, dedicated controllers. The personal computer-based DS uses distributed control, which places various terminal input/output components just where they are needed on the machine. Wiring goes directly to the I/O modules, instead of all leading back to the central controller.
Also at NPE, Barber-Colman and Eurotherm said that Anchor Packaging, in Paragould, Ark., is using a Maco DS controller to run a seven-layer extrusion line that turns out sheet for thermoforming.
Also in extrusion, the companies said the new EM3 will save machinery manufacturers money because they no longer will have to design and build their own control systems to keep routines confidential. EM3 includes a PC-operator station, application-specific I/O blocks and terminal I/O blocks.
Barber-Colman and Eurotherm are headquartered in Reston, Va.
In other news, they announced:
* Operator stations that are not PC-based now are available on the new Maca DS/EM3 controller for plastics injection molding, extrusion or blow molding. Machinery makers can use a lower-cost gray scale display, then let customers upgrade to a better screen later.
* A new member of the Series 2000 family of controllers, called the Model 2604 melt pressure controller.
* Eurotherm now sells thermocouples and other sensors and accessories.