PMC Custom Machines
Introduction
Over twenty-five years, we have provided a wide range of solutions to automate end of line (packaging) processes. Our strength lies in the fact that:
- Twenty-five years of distribution of packaging equipment. We have seen a lot of good solutions and bad solutions over that time. Our field technicians have to troubleshoot and repair all of our distributed lines of equipment and provide us with first hand knowledge of equipment through their eyes. We learn from this wide experience and incorporate it in our designs.
- As machine designers and builders, we intimately know CSA Z432-16 safety standards, which safety engineers most frequently cite in performing Pre-Start Evaluations.
- CONCEPTS is the third word in our company name. We relish the opportunity to conceive of a solution to a problem, execute, look back and say, “We built that”. We truly take pride in our work!
- We are vertically integrated organization. We design and build our own panels and have a fully equipped shop. We out source laser cutting, forming and powder coating.
- We understand our abilities and limitations. Generally speaking, we are confident in delivery solutions at 100 parts per minute.
Where possible, we design your equipment around catalogue components. This reduces our construction time and reduces your long-term costs. We use proprietary components, which we design and build for you, only when absolutely necessary.
General Standards:
- Festo pneumatic cylinders and valves
- Festo toothed belt and spindle drive linear axes
- Nordgear and Leeson gear reducers
- Thomson Super-Smart ball bushings and INA shafting for linear guiding
- Allen Bradley, Panasonic and Festo field devices
- Schmersal and Allen Bradley safety devices
- Festo and Allen Bradley servo amplifiers and motors
- Allen Bradley PanelView series touch operation interface
- Allen Bradley and KB AC frequency drives
- Nordson hot melt adhesive tanks, hoses, guns and pattern controllers
- Welded frame construction made from 2” and 3” carbon steel tubing – a solid, vibration free machine base is the core to good machine design.
- Safety superstructures, doors and adjustable assemblies are constructed from bolted aluminum extrusion
- We make provisions to guard critical components like servo motors with box guards and mount pneumatic valves and supplies with inset boxes
- We incorporate polycarbonate sheet and PVC coated wire mesh screen for all safety panels
- We build interlocked access doors from safe access to components
- All other potential access points are covered by PVC covered, bolt-on, steel mesh panels
Past Examples:
Auto spray pump cap placer:
General description:
- Two modules will be located in-line, where the infeed module will discharge all bottles onward to the discharge module. These modules will be fitted with mated flanged that will be fastened upon installation.
- In each module, a common bottle conveyor frame will be present with a single length of tab chain with end drive located on the discharge module.
- Four vibratory bowls with feeding systems will be located on the non-operator (rear) side of both modules.
- Both pairs of vibratory bowls, each one dedicated to either pump or trigger style cap, will be mirrored so that the feeding lanes can be placed within about 12″ centres, side by side as they enter our machine envelope.
- Each of the four feeding systems will discharge at an approximate elevation of 50″ into a 24″ long, two position channelizer.
- Each channelizer feeds two buffer lanes that are approximately 36″ long.
- Indexing product drive is accomplished via LH and RH timing belt conveyors that pinch the cap stems about ½” below the cap lip are pneumatically actuated.
- Each module will have two cap placers, one dedicated to each cap style, located at the discharge of the two sets of twin buffer lanes. Each cap placer assembly will be comprised of two parallel grippers mounted on a short y-axis that pulls the caps so as to clear the lanes (40 mm), and an adjustable stroke z-axis which will place both caps onto the bottle throats as they are presented below.
- Each cap placing position will be fitted with a spray tube guiding device located immediately above the top of the bottle openings. These will ensure that bent tubes are successfully fed into the bottle opening.
- Propulsion of caps through their respective lanes will be provided by a central Dayton blower that feeds a manifold where lines are distributed to several solenoid valves that in turn provide on-off control. Filtration requirements are yet to be determined and costs are not included.
- On the bottle conveyor, there will be two sets of bottle stops and clamps that correspond to the cap placer positioned above. Each bottle stop assembly will interchangeably handle trigger and pump cap placement locations.
- Two sets of side belt metering conveyors will properly space bottles for presentation to their respective down stream bottle clamps/stops.
Automatic Carton Turning system:
General description:
Indexing conveyor
- Constructed from aluminum extrusion – 80 mm x 40 mm with twin 11-gauge stainless steel top plates, left and right
- Tail and drive pulleys consist of two, nominal 3.5″ diameter removable aluminum pulleys with 1-1/4″ diameter bore, permanently lubricated, R16 (highest quality) bearings are pressed into each mounting block. Gap between pulleys accommodates the underside, centre “V” guide of the belt for belt tracking on conveyors where lateral loading is anticipated
- Marbett CVR-16 1-1/4″ high guide on both sides. At the infeed of the turner the guide rail is fixed relative to the outside face of the turner. The side opposite is pivoting adjustable at the discharge to accommodate varying carton length (long dimension). Down stream, both rails are pivoting adjustable to the centre datum of the gluer.
- Wittenstein double reduction planetary gearbox – NP015S-MF2 series
- One Rotex urethane couplings transmits power from servo motor to gearbox two timing pulleys and belt from the gearbox to the shaft of the drive pulley
- End driven configuration with underside centre take-up accommodates up to 4″ of belt tensioning. Take-up pulleys (two) are 2″ diameter stainless steel 11-gauge tube with pressed bearings
- Allen Bradley servo motor – p/n VPL-A0632F-PJ12AA
- FABCON 2LR/6 TR10 white PVC belt with 2 ply finger splice – 16″ wide – underside mounted PVC solid 6mm x 4mm “V” guide on centre – low friction and designed to accommodate lateral loading
Controls and Automation system (project bolt):
General description:
Main control panel
- Allen Bradley Compact Logix p/n 1769-L33ERMS Guard Logix programmable safety controller with input and output modules and capacity for up to eight servo axes and thirty-two nodes
- Main panel will have no control provisions whatsoever other than a main disconnect
- EIGHT Allen Bradley Power Flex 525 AC frequency drives, each with an infeed line reactor
- THREE Allen Bradley 1783-LMS8 STRATIX 2500 lightly managed switch – 8 port
- ONE Allen Bradley 1608S-3V480E three channel ethernet input voltage monitor
- ONE Allen Bradley EC6133C COSY 131 EWON module
- ONE Allen Bradley 1783-NATR IP configurable switch
- THREE Allen Bradley 1734-IB8S 8 channel safety input modules
- ONE Allen Bradley 1734-OB8S 8 channel safety output modules
- 575 VAC / 3 phase / 60 Hz – 30 Amp supply
- ONE Allen Bradley 24 VDC power supply 1606-XLE120E 120 watts
- Allen Bradley 22mm switch gear mounted to enclosure door – 800F series
- Hoffman NEMA 4X 304 one door, floor mounted, stainless-steel enclosure measuring 48″ wide x 60″ high x 24″ deep – p/n WS625118SS custom watershed panel with sloped top and sanitary lift-off hinges
- Enclosure air conditioning – Rittal TopTherm Blue e p/n504 1000-Watt capacity, side mounted on enclosure
- Includes electrical schematics, PLC and HMI programming
- Electrical inspection and certification by QPS