Leading Machine Builder can now Supply In-house Developed Automation and Batch Capabilities thanks to Rockwell Automation
symex, a leading machine builder for the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries, gains in-house automation capabilities while making significant savings in total cost of ownership.
| Challenge Due to constantly changing market demands and industry volumes, symex has to stay one step ahead of the market and made the decision to bring S88 capabilities in-house, allowing it to address some of its customers’ more complex needs Solutions • Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PACs • Flex-IO • FlexEx-IO • Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 700 drives • FTView SE • GOTC (Global OEM Technical Consultant) • Commercial engineering support • Services including : Embedded engineer Tailored training Results • S88 and batching capabilities are now available in-house • Far less reliance on external expertise to address customer demands • Ability to meet the specific needs of even more worldwide customers • Helped reduce product development time • Helped increase productivity • Improved operator safety |
Background
symex GmbH & Co. KG based in Bremerhaven, Germany is a leading manufacturer of high-end vacuummixing and homogenising systems for the production of emulsions (creams, lotions, gels & pastes), dispersions and suspensions – supplying many of the world’s leading cosmetic, pharmaceutical, chemical and food companies.
According to Ulf Sieckmann, from the sales and process engineering department at symex: “60 to 70 per cent of the world’s mixing processes can be performed by traditional, standardised mixing equipment systems; it is when a customer’s application needs a machine that falls within the remaining 20 to 30 percent, they come to us, with our specialised and patented system. However, we do not ignore the 60 to 70 per cent, we are often able to speed up processes significantly, make them even safer and help them offer better repeatability.”
Challenge
In any one time period, the mix of industries the company serves can vary. One year it may be 70 per cent in the cosmetics sector, 20 per cent in pharmaceuticals and the remaining 10 per cent in food and dairy. In another, these figures may differ significantly. It is for this reason that symex has to stay one step ahead of the market, to address developing agile yet flexible mixing technology and control systems for its machines.
Previously, symex was heavily reliant on external consultants to help develop special, non-standard control systems for individual bespoke customer units. This reliance introduced an additional level of complexity both in the development of the machines and their subsequent operation and maintenance. It is for this reason that symex decided to bring the automation and batching expertise in-house and called upon Rockwell Automation with its significant experience in this discipline.
The North American market is a big target for symex and, according to Sieckmann, “80 percent of our US customers standardise on Rockwell Automation equipment”. He continues: “In this particular instance, one of our primary customers insisted on S88 implementation; which was why we bought in Rockwell Automation. As well as providing the automation equipment and software, Rockwell Automation also provided the training for us to bring the skills to implement PAC-based S88 systems in-house. They also helped us with other areas such as FDA compliance.”
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The primary aim of the project was to not only create an S88-based infrastructure, but also to allow the engineers at symex to adapt and evolve the technology for future machine builds. Sieckmann explains: “Now that we understand how to programme the operating parameters and the appropriate standards we are finding it much easier to adopt the programmes on other machines – something in the past we would have had to rely on external specialists for. Our basic PLC programme can be easily upgraded to undertake batch control when a customer requires. A regular control system would require far more work for it to adopt the same standards.”
The S88 solution developed by Rockwell Automation for symex and its customer employs an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PAC, Flex I/O, FlexEx I/O, Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 700 drives and a FactoryTalk View SE system to provide an overall control infrastructure. Rockwell Automation also delivered the services of one of its Global OEM Technical Consultants (GOTCs) and an embedded engineer to help bring the project to fruition. GOTCs are often at the forefront of Rockwell Automation projects. As specialists in their sector they bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to all of the projects they work on. As well as improving the technical relationship with the customer, they also act as a focal point for the project coordinating information and technical capabilities.
“The Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture solution gives the customer a much simpler way of undertaking manual control where necessary” Ulf Sleckmann sales and process engineering, symex |
symex is also looking to adopt Rockwell Automation’s ‘Compact Machine Solutions’ – driven by Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PACs – for some of its smaller machines. The beauty of the Integrated Architecture approach developed by Rockwell Automation means that programs developed for larger PACs can be easily ported to smaller units, without many of the datamigration headaches faced when using equipment from other suppliers.
symex’s customer is delighted with the control infrastructure symex is now able to deliver. Sieckmann continues: “The customer now has three machines and they are much happier with how they run; so much so that they are even thinking of upgrading some of their existing plant, some of which is only five years old, to include this new operating system in order to be ready for batch controlled processes according to the S88 Standard, indeed this is the primary reason for the upgrade.
“The Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture solution gives the customer a much simpler way of undertaking manual control where necessary. They now have a batch system that can be run semi-automatically and then switched to fully automatic operation.” Indeed, the retrofitting of newer control equipment into older machines is a growing business for symex. The upgrade of older SLC and PLC5 units to CompactLogix PACs is of great interest as most customers demand near zero downtime.
The introduction of Rockwell Automation and the ease at which symex has been able to adopt the technology has meant it is now able to offer an additional in-house standard for its customers. “We now use Rockwell Automation equipment as a selling point,” Sieckmann elaborates. “Some of our competitors only offer one automation supplier, our approach is to offer them what they want and, with our new in-house experience of Rockwell Automation we can now address a much wider market a lot more easily. We are now able to write specific recipes for bespoke applications – all in-house, freeing up valuable development time for other parts of the equipment.”
The combination of contemporary control solutions – including those supplied by Rockwell Automation – and symex’s own advanced, in-house specialised machine design capabilities, has allowed the company to develop specialised systems that offer multiple benefits to its end customers. These include:
- Up to 75% time savings on production processes
- Up to 50% energy saving
- Up to 80% less use of water and detergents for cleaning (CIP)
- Up to 60% time saving on cleaning procedures
- Individual cleaning recipes for every product
For more information, please e-mail us at: info_at@ra.rockwell.com with ref: symex
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