The control system is an integral part of the extrusion machinery and extrusion process. It has a very large impact on the productivity, quality, uniformity, and cost per production unit for the extruder and overall extrusion process. This post answers what benefits a computer has over operator/discrete controls.
Operator vs. Computer
Regardless of the technology that you use in your facility- you have a control system. If this is a man with 15 years of knowledge, or a kid with a clipboard and discrete controls, or an automated solution - you have a system.
The principal function of ANY control system involves the monitoring and control of a wide variety of process and product parameters.
- Barrel Temperatures
- Extruder Speeds
- Melt Temperature
- Melt and Screen pressures
- Drive Load
- Coordinated Feeders
- Coordinated Down Stream Drives
A human operator using discrete controls can adjust all of these control points to workable settings, however the questions remain:
- Are the settings optimal?
- How does one setting affect another?
- Are we sure they are set at the right points?
- What if our operator leaves for a competitor?
- Can we trust each shift of operators to operate the same way?
- Are we sure that settings are adjusted between products appropriately?
All of these questions are answered- with great benefit, with an automated control system. A centralized operator interface allows the operator to MANAGE through a consolidated view of the process, and not just respond to it.
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