Harnessing the Future of Manufacturing with Rockwell Automation’s ArmorBlock 5000® I/O Portfolio
Bottles & Glass Bottling Co.*, founded back in 1919, has been the go-to place for flawless bottles. Known not just for their impeccable products, but also for their warm customer service, they’ve seen growth year after year. But with growth came challenges. The spike in demand began to wear on their old machines. What used to be a perfect count every time started seeing hiccups. Bottles jammed, labels went askew, and the once smooth production began to show cracks.
Enter the ArmorBlock 5000® I/O portfolio from Rockwell Automation.
Solving the Problem
The challenge was simple: increase the production speed without compromising on the quality or precision of the bottling process. The traditional system was riddled with inefficiencies, especially with regards to the machine’s sensor readings. The inaccuracies caused more rejects, slowed down production, and ultimately, caused lost revenue.
There were some additional challenges as well. The building was built in 1859 and it’s not conducive for running new wiring all over the place. Any new solution would have to be simple to install and maintain. It would also have to take into account the fact that this is a bottling plant, and sometimes things do spill. There is also washdown maintenance where the machines are cleaned. The new solution would have to be able to handle these rugged conditions without getting damaged.
Rockwell’s ArmorBlock 5000® portfolio was ready to tackle these challenges head-on.
Its On-Machine™ capabilities mean that it can be installed directly on the machine using pre-fabricated cables, which simplifies the wiring and saves a lot of cost in engineering time. No drilling through walls and running hundreds of feet of new cables, and no building bulky cabinets that take up valuable wall space. As a result, the entire solution can be installed very quickly. It has ingress protection with IP69K industry rating, which means that it’s extremely durable against many different environmental factors. Go ahead and spill 50 cases of Cola all over the machines. It can handle it! It can also handle the ensuing washdown with powerful jets.
At the heart of the solution is the ArmorBlock 5000® I/O 16-point configurable block, renowned for its super-fast I/O channels and high current I/O channels, a nexus that enables users to seamlessly connect sensors and actuators to the controller and deliver precise control over the timing of complex operations.
The innovative ArmorBlock 5000® IO-Link master block is another product in the portfolio. Containing many similarities to the I/O 16-point configurable block, the IO-Link master block provides more detailed diagnostics. The IO-Link master works seamlessly with different sensors and actuators and contextualizes sensor readings with environmental data. It enables us to perform tasks, such as setting up sensors for extremely accurate measurements, creating backups and restoring sensor configurations, providing ADC (automatic device configuration) support for all IO-Link devices, and giving us all the sensor diagnostic data we need to make sure everything is working properly. For example, in our bottling company scenario, The IO-Link master can simultaneously link with multiple sensors on a conveyor belt, analyze and validate the sensor data, and direct actuators that can adjust the belt’s speed based on the weight of items to avoid jams or damage.
Integrating IO-Link devices into Studio 5000® Logix Designer:
Integrating the IO-Link devices into the Studio 5000® application is really simple. Factory personnel familiar with the Rockwell ecosystem will find adding and configuring new devices a breeze. It’s as simple as integrating Ethernet devices, eliminating the need for any new learning curves.
Abundant Functionality:
The IO-Link master block possesses configurable digital channels and supports both Class A and Class B IO-Link devices, paving the way for an intuitive connection of sensors and output devices.
It also possesses the following valuable capabilities which it has in common with the I/O 16-point configurable block:
Counter Mode:
In this mode, a specific channel on the IO-Link master block is configured as a counter, which is primarily responsible for counting the occurrences of specific events or signals. These events could be anything from the number of products passing through a production line to the cycles of a machine’s operation. Counter mode is commonly used in manufacturing and industrial settings where precise counting of events or products is essential for quality control, process optimization, and data analysis. It helps operators and control systems keep track of crucial parameters and make informed decisions based on the count data. In our example, it’s how many bottles to fill.
Input Time Stamp:
This feature provides you with a digital time stamp which creates a timeline of events that can be important for troubleshooting, optimizing processes, and making sure operations run smoothly. In our example, the system monitors and records the precise instant a bottle enters the production line.
High Current Channels:
High current channels allow users to connect power-hungry equipment seamlessly, ensuring that your production line runs smoothly.
Multiple Power Variants:
Both blocks are available with three different power variants: Mini 4-pin, Mini 5-pin, and L-coded. This flexibility is particularly valuable for industries with global operations. In scenarios where a company has facilities in different regions worldwide, the ability to choose the appropriate power variant for each location simplifies the integration process. For instance, one location may require the Mini 4-pin variant, while another might need the Mini 5-pin variant based on regional standards and preferences. In industries like automotive, where the L-coded variant is preferred for its ability to handle higher current capacity, this adaptability ensures compatibility with existing systems. Regardless of which power variant is chosen, these devices seamlessly integrate with Studio 5000® software. This standardized integration simplifies the setup and configuration and reduces the complexity of managing diverse power requirements across a global enterprise.
The I/O 16-point configurable block offers these additional capabilities:
Scheduled Output:
Scheduled output is a system that governs the release of outputs, ensuring they’re dispatched at the right moments or under certain predefined conditions. In the bottling world, timing is everything. Think about a conveyor belt moving bottles. They get filled, capped, labeled, then packed. Each step has to be spot on. If the bottle’s not right under the filler, you’ve got a mess. And if it’s not properly aligned for capping, you’re wasting time and money. The 16-point configurable I/O block orchestrates these operations, ensuring each step occurs with impeccable timing.
Scheduled output interfaces with image recognition systems, making sure everything’s lined up perfectly and each action happens right when it should.
Even if something’s slightly off, like a misaligned bottle, this system can spot it and fix things before they go wrong. It either stops the entire production process or it simply reroutes the problem bottle to get it out of the way and enables the production line to continue without missing a beat. In an industry where every second counts, this kind of precision is gold.
Sequence of Events:
In industrial automation, a “Sequence of Events” refers to the systematic logging and tracking of equipment or process actions in precise chronological order, enabling detailed analysis, troubleshooting, and optimization of production systems. In our example, every event that occurs in the system gets timestamped and logged, FIFO (first in, first out). When a bottle enters the assembly line, it gets timestamped, down to the nanosecond. When it gets filled, it gets timestamped. Now, imagine a motor, somewhere on the assembly line, gets jammed and suddenly halts a conveyor belt. Once the engineers get onsite, doing a root cause analysis is a breeze. Since everything was precisely timestamped, all you need to do is find the first timestamped anomaly, which is the jammed motor, and now you know what needs to be fixed. Within moments, the factory is operational once again.
Versatility
Both the ArmorBlock 5000® IO-Link master block and the ArmorBlock 5000® I/O 16-point configurable block are user configurable and very feature rich, which simplifies the decision-making process when selecting a module. From a maintenance perspective, companies don’t need to stock multiple product variants for different applications. Since a single block can be configured to suit many different applications, it eliminates the need for an extensive inventory. Not only does this simplify the usage but it also improves the usefulness of the product throughout its entire lifecycle, from installation to daily operations.
Bringing it all together
To bring it all together, picture our factory again. The ArmorBlock 5000® I/O portfolio is installed directly on the machine, and the wires are organized neatly and cleanly. Counter mode serves as the meticulous tally keeper at the beginning of the production line, ensuring accurate bottle counting. Now we know how many bottles to fill. As the bottles progress to the filling station, Input Time Stamp records the precise arrival time, facilitating synchronization for the filling process. Since we know how many bottles we’re filling, and the exact time the bottle passed through the machine, we can use this information to calculate the precise moment when the bottle will be under the filling station and invoke the Scheduled Output to fill the bottle. We do the same for the capping process, the labeling, the packaging, and so on.
With the ArmorBlock 5000® I/O portfolio in play, bottles are counted accurately, production speeds are at an all-time high, and rejects are a thing of the past.
*Company and application are for illustration purposes only. Application use is a broad range.
About the Author
Avrohom Gottheil is the founder of #AskTheCEO Media, where he helps global brands get heard over the noise on social media, by presenting their corporate message using language people understand.
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