SmartWire-DT reduces wiring time by 94 %

Background 

IMSB Embalagem is a subsidiary of the IMSB Group, one of Brazil's leading developers and suppliers of sanitising and packaging machinery for companies in the pharmaceutical, chemical, food and cosmetics sectors. Established over 15 years ago, the IMSB Group sells its products not only in Brazil, but around the world and has an installed base of over 2,500 machines. 

The group prides itself on providing personal service, and on developing bespoke solutions that meet the precise requirements of its customers in a cost-effective manner. To this end, it employs a specialist design team of 26 qualified and experienced engineers.

IMSB Embalagem is Brazil's leading developer of machines for packaging applications, and the Embalagem division generates around 40 % of the IMSB Group’s revenues. 

The company typically manufacturers in excess of 120 machines each year for a diverse range of applications. 

Challenges

The market for packaging machinery is extremely competitive anywhere in the world, and Brazil is no exception. And even though customers appreciate the benefits of personal service and customised equipment, these are rarely sufficient to outweigh price considerations completely. For these reasons, IMSB Embalagem is constantly seeking ways to reduce the production costs of its equipment without compromising on performance, versatility or reliability. 

A detailed cost analysis carried out by the company revealed that the control panels it produces made up a significant part of the overall cost of the machine. The analysis also showed that one of the most expensive aspects of the panel production process was wiring, which typically took a skilled technician around four and a half hours to complete. 

IMSB Embalagem therefore identified panel wiring as one of the key areas for cost reduction, provided that this could be achieved without any adverse effects on quality. 

Solution 

IMSB Embalagem has had a long and successful relationship with Eaton, which began more than eight years ago when the company chose Eaton’s XC-200 programmable controllers (PLCs) as the user-friendly and flexible control solution for its more complex machines. In the course of this relationship, Eaton learned of IMSB Embalagem's interest in finding ways to reduce the time required for wiring and thus offered a demonstration of the SmartWire-DT system. 

The SmartWire-DT system eliminates the need for conventional wiring and instead uses pre-assembled plug-in cables to connect the individual components within the control panel. This not only significantly reduces the time required to wire the panel, but also virtually eliminates the possibility of wiring errors. Many of Eaton's standard components can be connected to SmartWire-DT, not only the XC-200 PLCs, but also the PKZ motor-protection relays, DIL contactors and RMQ-Titan pushbuttons that IMSB Embalagem was already using. 

Despite the obvious benefits offered by the SmartWire-DT system, the engineers at IMSB Embalagem were initially reluctant. They were particularly concerned that customers would no longer feel confident to remedy any electrical issues on their machines themselves because of the seemingly more complicated network technology involved in SmartWire-DT. To demonstrate that these concerns were unfounded, Eaton worked closely with IMSB Embalagem to develop a SmartWire-DT-based control system for one of its current projects – a machine that receives bottles from a production line and collates them before loading them into cases ready for dispatch to retailers. 

Results

Thanks to SmartWire-DT, the control panel for the bottle packing machine proved easy to design and build, and IMSB Embalagem was instantly impressed by the very short time it took to complete the control wiring. In fact, once the components had been installed, the whole wiring process took just 15 minutes, compared with the four and a half hours required for conventional control wiring. This is a reduction of 94 %, which translates into significant cost savings. 

However, the reduced wiring time was not the only benefit of using SmartWire-DT. The control panel now had a much neater appearance compared to conventional control wiring, and there were, of course, no wiring errors, which meant that very little time was needed for testing and commissioning. 

In addition, the IMSB Embalagem engineers found that they could substantially reduce the panel design time thanks to Eaton's SmartWire Assist software package, which allows control panels to be configured quickly and easily, and automatically generates all the necessary documentation, including component ordering schedules. 

A final but nevertheless very important point was that the anticipated resistance of end users to SmartWire-DT failed to materialise, not least because, in the unlikely event of a problem, the powerful in-built diagnostics made troubleshooting considerably easier.

"With the SmartWire-DT system, it was possible for us to connect all of the contactors, pushbuttons and signalling devices used in our panels by means of a single network cable," says Paulo Zan, Electronics Engineer at IMSB Embalagem. "There was thus no need to use any conventional control wiring at all. Fast assembly, the easy-to-use software and simplified troubleshooting are among the many benefits that SmartWire-DT offers." 

Following the success of its first SmartWire-DT-based control panels, IMSB Embalagem decided to use Eaton’s intelligent wiring system for future projects, and has already placed orders for SmartWire-DT equipment which will be installed in a second bottle packing machine and a palletiser.