CHICAGO (June 22, 12:30 p.m. EDT) — Adaptive Instruments LLC will feature its wireless extrusion monitoring system at the Davis-Standard exhibit (Booth N5107).
The Accutech monitoring system allows remote monitoring of process variables such as melt temperature, pressure, screw speed and motor load. Engineers can use the system while traveling to collect data using a Web browser.
“A person can be on the road and access real-time information at a fraction of the cost of hard-wired systems,” said Adaptive President Angelo Firenze in a pre-NPE interview.
Accutech also is suited to monitoring variables on long, complex extrusion lines where hard wiring is costly and for experimental extrusion lines where final machine configuration decisions haven't been made.
Accutech is an extension of his Adaptive's experience in remote monitoring in other industries such as food, dairy and pharmaceuticals. He brought the idea to Davis-Standard in early 2003. D-S encouraged him to develop a system for extrusion.
The system includes sensors, battery-powered field transeivers, a base radio transeiver, Ethernet or analog output, software for data management and full assimilation to legacy systems. Accutech has a monitoring range of 3,000 feet. All components are Federal Communication Commission certified. There are no machine protocol conflicts when the system is used, added Firenze.
Accutech is easy to install, said Firenze. Reliability and security are ensured by two-way communication capability that provides a means of checks and balances for accuracy and problem diagnosis.
The Accutech demonstration at D-S's booth will involve three static extruders and a running cast film line. The cast line will include multi-input field units monitoring pressure, temperature, screw speed and motor amps.
Wireless technology is also applicable to other plastics proc-esses, auxiliary machinery and downstream equipment, Firenze said by telephone from Adaptive's head office in Hudson, Mass.
