Inserter Controls : APSOLUT Workcell Control System

Problem:

Advertising revenue is down. The advertising department says we can increase market share by targeting smaller demographic areas. But targeting smaller areas means that the number of production runs will also increase. Our current inserter controls cannot handle this increased demand. For the newspaper to maintain high profit levels, production must also reduce costs. The existing zones take forever to program, the inserter is disconnected from the downstream equipment, the CPU boards are failing, and the user-interface is barely readable. So, what now? How do we reduce costs? What is important? Should we purchase new equipment? Why should we upgrade the existing equipment?

Solution:

The APSOLUT Workcell Control System answers these questions with a coordinated, collective approach to transforming legacy mailrooms into state-of-the-art Packaging Centers.

There are three key components that are important to Packaging Automation:

• APSOLUT Integration^™

• APSOLUT Automation^™

• APSOLUT Innovation^™

The anticipation of carrier route zoning has pressured operations to review their ability to effectively support this increase in demand. The mailroom must be able to handle more zone changes efficiently. New, innovative inserter controls are needed to satisfy demand. There are many components required to bundle packages for distribution. Each component is currently independent of the other and the resulting system is complex and cumbersome. These devices must be integrated into an "umbrella system" to enable automation to increase your productivity.

Currently, inserter machines utilize inserter controls that are based upon legacy computer systems to control the insertion process. These systems are becoming obsolete and replacement parts are often hard to find. The inserter controls desperately need to be modernized to prevent losses in production.

As the number of production runs increase, it is becoming necessary to automate the inserter controls to offset the increase in demand. This level of automation will soon be a critical differentiator and a requirement for efficient newspaper production facilities.

New equipment is expensive and inferior to existing equipment if not integrated properly to your facility. This includes the cost of new equipment, construction, startup, installation, maintenance, and extensive operator & maintenance training. Integration of the inserter controls and downstream equipment is essential to resolving the problems you are experiencing. Without proper integration, new equipment will likely complicate rather than simplify the operation.

Existing equipment is already purchased and installed. Some maintenance may be required to delivery inhibit valves and other electronic components before proper operation can occur. Many problems you are experiencing are caused by old technologies in the existing inserter controls that have reached their expected lifetime. Modernization of the existing system will replace these legacy components with new, state-of-the-art technology. Your existing system has tremendous potential that can be unlocked to reveal cost savings, increased efficiency, reduced maintenance, vital process information, and significant process improvements.

The APSOLUT system is applicable to any type of inserting machine. It is not biased towards GMA, Heidelberg, Kansa, Schur, Mueller Martini or any other vendor's machine. From a controls standpoint, these systems are amazingly similar. If you have a diverse set of machines in your mailroom, the APSOLUT Workcell Control System can be applied to each system. The result is a completely integrated Packaging Center from stem to stern that is easy-to-operate and virtually transparent to the end user.

In this section, "Packaging Automation", you'll explore how disparate systems can be pulled out of their individual shells, allowing you to integrate your Packaging Facility and manage the entire system from a central location. You'll see how automation can increase the efficiency of your operation and how innovation can deliver significant process improvements to your bottom line.

What is APSOLUT Integration?

The process of connecting all of the packaging equipment together with a database to form a Workcell and enabling automation to simply complex production processes found within a legacy production facility.

Why Integrate?

APSOLUT Integration allows disparate systems to be pulled out of their individual shells, allowing you to integrate your Packaging Center and manage the entire system from a central location. It also enables the Packaging Center to manage supply chain costs. This includes the cost of movement, storage, and control of packages across the supply chain, both within the packaging facility, the database, and between different components of the supply chain. Integration creates new revenue streams by enabling production to run smaller micro zones and advertising the ability to target smaller demographic areas. Integration increases the accuracy of package counts for distribution and reduces the amount of expensive rework caused by erroneous reorders.

Effective supply chain management is the next logical step you need to take in order to increase profit and market share.

What is the OCI (Open Control Interface)?

The OCI is a relational database that stores data in the form of related tables. It is a collection of information organized in such a way that client applications can quickly select desired pieces of data. The OCI database can be considered as an electronic filing system for storing production plans and execution results from the Packaging Department. The OCI database was co-developed by Rich Burt (CEO, President and Chief Software Architect for Burt Technologies) and David Ferguson (Chief Software Architect for APSOLUT).

The OCI database serves as the warehouse for incoming orders from the supplier or planning system. Each Workcell acts as a store that receives production plans. The Workcells are supplied by a central database that acts as the coordinator of the supply chain.

Execution results are monitored in real-time and stored relationally within the OCI database. The results remain at the warehouse indefinitely. This long-term history of production results allows operations to develop preventive maintenance plans and process improvements.

How does it work?

The APSOLUT Workcell Control System uses the OCI database to collect production plans and execution results. The OCI database is integrated into the Preprint Planning System. Advertising supplies the ad orders and circulation supplies the carrier route information to the Planning System. The planning supervisor uses the Planning System to generate optimized production plans. The plans are then downloaded into the OCI database.

Production plans spend very little time in the database. A plan remains in the database until you are ready to begin production of the plan. This allows the plan to be modified, reassigned, or placed on hold Just-In-Time for operations. The ability to have the right package on the right inserter at the right time results in decreased setup costs and the most efficient use of operations time.

What are production plans?

Production plans include all of the settings required by the inserter and every piece of downstream equipment to package a bundle for distribution. These plans are calculated down to the carrier route level and safely stored within the confines of a relational database to insure data integrity.

Each production plan contains many settings. Job settings include targeted carrier routes, zones, name, description, and target draw amounts per carrier route. Machine settings include proper piece names, hopper piece assignments, hopper miss/multiple/inhibit setpoints, piece miss/multiple setpoints, target machine speed, and single or dual delivery setup information. Downstream settings include stacker bundle size and number of turns, stacker odd bundle size, bottom wrap printer messages, palletizer bundle settings, and/or cart loader bundle settings.

What are execution results?

Execution results include all of the actual production figures from every piece of equipment used to package bundles for distribution. The results are recorded in real-time and stored relationally within the database down to the carrier route level. This deep level of integration allows management to review production reports and make educated decisions on future packaging strategies. Production reports help to reveal any problems that currently exist and allow you to improve your packaging process. Integration also allows advertising to implement advanced quality control procedures and improve service offerings to their customers.

What is involved?

The inserter machine is controlled and driven by a microcomputer. The Workcell Controller receives operational settings from the OCI database, collects information throughout the production run, and analyzes this information to make informed production decisions. Machine production results are then recorded and stored in the OCI database.

Each piece of downstream equipment is connected to a central computer. Some wiring and hardware additions are required to allow each device to communicate with the Workcell Interface computer. Specially designed software is installed on the Workcell Interface to communicate serially with each device. The software uses the native serial protocol language created by the OEM for serial communications to a host computer.

Existing tray systems are integrated into the Workcell using an additional serial interface to the tray controller. Bundle information is transmitted serially to the tray controller and the assigned product codes are issued automatically.

This unique combination of hardware and software is tailored to meet and/or exceed your needs. It allows you to select the vendor of choice for your equipment purchase without having to worry about compatibility.

Integration Features

The Workcell

• Planning System 

• OCI Database

• Workcell Interface

• Workcell Controller

• Inserter Machine Control

• Package Conveyor Tracking

• Marquee Interface

• Stacker Interface

• Bundle Conveyor Tracking

• Printer Interface

• Strapper Interface

• Bundle Counters

• Palletizer Interface

• Cart Loader Interface

Integration is the key to success...

Many Packaging Centers have overlooked the fact that integration is the most important factor of mailroom modernization. Process improvement teams are formed to lead the modernization effort. Everyone tends to focus on the machines and NOT Integration. The fact is, most inserters, new or existing, are very similar in functionality. Most inserters have comparable rates of speed and offer insertion with only slight differences in functionality.

Team members also tend to focus on equipment vendors and NOT Integration. The fact is, machine vendors are good at building machines out of metal. Mechanical fabrication is their core competency. So, naturally, it is easier for them to sell a piece of equipment and leave it to the user to figure out how to integrate it with the remaining equipment. It is common for machine vendors to pressure sell their other downstream components. Many times, these components are clearly inferior to those of other manufacturers. The "pressure sell" is due in part to the fact that they do not want to make their equipment communicate with other vendors' equipment. Sophisticated software is required to allow equipment from different vendors to talk with one another. Many times, software development is considered a cost center to the equipment vendors. Cost centers are constantly under pressure to quickly develop software programs to go to market with. The result is a system that requires a lot of attention and does not work properly at all times (if ever).

Additional non-integrated hardware will not increase your capabilities or your productivity. The inserters will continue to run at the same speeds they always have, production will still require the same amount of people to produce a package, and the same amount of time will be required to perform manual tasks.

A focus on Integration will allow faster changeovers between jobs, reduce waste, reduce the number of errors introduced by manual processing, and enable you to run a greater number of micro zones to target smaller demographic areas.

Successful Integration requires a strong commitment to success and a depth of experience in process integration and machine automation.

Integration enables Automation...

What is APSOLUT Automation?

Information technology that allows complex production tasks to be processed efficiently and enables innovation to drive change within the Packaging Center.

Why Automate?

APSOLUT Automation increases the efficiency of the Packaging Center by replacing legacy controllers with new advanced technology. Packaging is elevated to the next level by state-of-the-art microcomputer technology. The high-speed nature of inserting machines makes a microcomputer the solution of choice. Increased efficiency allows you to lower your cost structure and realize greater profits.

How does Automation increase productivity?

Automation uses information technology to reduce the delay between Workcell components. Currently, many packaging tasks are handled manually by mailroom personnel. These tasks will now be handled by the computer. The result is increased process throughput and a reduction of costly human errors. Automation also enables you to create preventive maintenance plans that help to avoid mechanical failure and expensive downtime. Production resources are optimized through automation and utilized to their fullest extent.

What is involved?

The existing wiring will be used to connect the inserter to the Workcell Controller computer. This greatly reduces the cost of upgrading the control system since new I/O does not have to be installed, wired and tested. In addition, the existing wiring is the preferred I/O bus for high-speed machine control. Other I/O subsystems cannot match the raw speed of the existing digital I/O (PAMUX). Minimal changes to hopper head wiring is required to control each individual hopper input. Simple wiring changes replace a countless number of control relays that currently exist in the hopper head. These legacy relays are prone to failure and extremely difficult to troubleshoot.

Why not use a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)?

A poorly designed PLC-based solution is not a good choice for high-speed machine control. PLCs are better-suited for applications where the existing system cannot be reused. Also, the vast amount of information that must be processed quickly overloads a PLC and renders the PLC scan rate too high to capture all inputs necessary for accurate insertion. Some symptoms of overloaded PLC systems include loosing track of pocket position and intermittent counts that do not make sense. Pocket loss requires frequent resynching of the machine encoder and inaccurate counts can lead to increased waste and/or expensive rework.

How does it work?

The APSOLUT Workcell Control System uses an encoder to control the insertion process. As the inserter produces packages, electronic components watch for certain events to unfold and report the results to the processor. Interfaces to the downstream equipment are installed to report production results to the Workcell Controller. The processor quickly processes all of the information and makes informed assignment, quantity, and insertion decisions Just-In-Time for operations.

Automation Features

Inserter

• Automatic hopper engage/disengage

• Automatic job start

• Automatic job download/upload

Package Conveyors

• Gripper silencing on-the-fly

• Package tracking

Marquees

• Immediate notification of alarm events

• Real-time production information

Stackers

• Bundle size and number of turns are automatically downloaded for each job

• Ejects are automatically initiated by the Workcell Controller

• Package counts are recorded in real-time for reconciliation purposes

Bundle Conveyors

• Immediate notification of fault conditions via marquees

• Automatic failover to the next downstream line upon fault condition

Printers

• Bottom wrap message is automatically downloaded to the printer for each job

• Immediate notification of printer or communication errors via marquees

Strappers

• Immediate notification of fault conditions via marquees

• Immediate notification of low strap condition via marquees

• Automatic failover to the next downstream line upon fault condition

Bundle Counters

• Bundle counts are recorded in real-time for reconciliation purposes

• Insures accurate production quantities are delivered to distribution

Palletizers

Cart Loaders

• Bundle information is automatically downloaded for each job

• Bundle counts are recorded in real-time for reconciliation purposes

Tray Systems

• Bundle information is automatically downloaded for each job

• Assigned product codes are issued automatically for each job

Automation increases the efficiency of your Packaging Center...

All newspapers are looking for ways to decrease costs and increase profits. A tough economy can severely limit the amount of advertising revenue as companies trim back on advertising expenditures. More creative methods must be employed to maintain high profit levels. A focus on increased efficiency throughout the production facility will lower your cost structure, create value, and result in higher profits.

Costs can be reduced in the Packaging Center by automating the packaging process. Automation allows complex tasks to be processed quickly, results in increased process throughput and reduces the amount of costly human errors within the production facility. Several manual processes are replaced with information technology to automatically perform the required tasks and enable innovation to provide significant process improvements throughout the entire facility.

This level of automation will soon be a critical differentiator and a requirement for efficient newspaper operations. Increase process throughput and the efficiency of your Packaging Center today with APSOLUT Automation.

Automation enables Innovation...

What is APSOLUT Innovation?

Advanced packaging technologies that drive change within the Packaging Center and enables a newspaper to differentiate itself from the competition.

Why Innovate?

APSOLUT Innovation enables you to realize significant process improvements within your Packaging Center. Intense competition between newspapers and commercial printers demands improved financial performance from all departments within a production facility.

How does Innovation promote differentiation?

Innovation gives you something that your competitors lack. Package integrity, advanced controls, the ability to record high-density production data, and the ability to insert down to the carrier route level are some of the distinct capabilities that will differentiate yourself from the competition.

What is involved?

Integration and automation of the packaging equipment paves the way to allow innovation to promote change within the Packaging Center. State-of-the-art technology is used to develop sophisticated software that runs on the Workcell Controller and Workcell Interface computers. These technologies require the installation of a few new hardware components. The technology is built upon an industry-standard platform that is open to easily allow for future software upgrades.

Why should we not continue to operate as we always have?

Information technology is the enabler of innovation within a production facility that allows you to seek considerable improvements in cost, time, and quality of the finished product. In order to create value within the Packaging Center, it is necessary to consider new ways of doing familiar tasks. The value created by differentiation will produce higher profits and position the newspaper for success as you continue to grow.

APSOLUT Miss^™

APSOLUT Miss uses a diffuse-type photoelectric sensor to monitor a hopper insert attempt. It replaces the existing hopper miss sensor. The legacy photoelectric sensors used to detect hopper misses utilize reflective technology. This technology presents several problems for operations. The sensors can become covered with dust and prevent the sensor from detecting the reflectors. They require operator intervention to properly set the sensitivity and time delay settings on the internal one-shot module. The reflectors can become dirty, misaligned, broken, or even be removed from their respective brackets. These conditions cause the hopper to improperly record a successful insertion when the hopper actually missed.

The APSOLUT system replaces the legacy reflective-type sensors with simple, easy-to-use diffuse-type photoelectric sensors. The significant advantage of these sensors is that they do not require a reflector for operation. There are no settings to configure and the sensors are immune to dusty conditions. These sensors allow the control system to determine if an insert has jammed in the hopper and will always record a true miss. This allows the APSOLUT Workcell Control System to make informed decisions and accurately record hopper misses down to the carrier route level.

APSOLUT Bundles^™

APSOLUT Bundles uses two downstream stackers to create bundles with the exact amount of packages per bundle every time. This software technology was developed to reduce the amount of waste produced throughout a production run.

Historically, stackers tend to count packages incorrectly. The problem stems from packages produced on the inserting lines. The heterogeneous nature of packages with many inserts can trick the laser counter when the packages enter the stacker from the infeed conveyor. The gripper line releases packages to the conveyor and inserts tend to stray from the jacket. If the lap distance between two packages is too small, the laser counter will miss a package and the internal counter will not increment. The stacker ejects when the number of packages in the stacker meets the target bundle size. The result is bundles that have one or more additional papers. This phenomenon creates a considerable shortage throughout the course of a large production run and causes distribution to request additional bundles. These bundles are not really needed and increases waste within the Packaging Center.

Under normal conditions, the APSOLUT system will produce the correct amount of bundles regardless of inaccurate stacker counts. Distribution will always receive the right amount of bundles, however, more packages are required to deliver these bundles. With APSOLUT Bundles, you get the right amount of bundles produced with the right amount of papers. It is a clever way to reduce waste and lower your cost structure.

APSOLUT Zero^™

APSOLUT Zero is a recently developed mode of machine operation. It delivers a useful combination of job accuracy and machine throughput. Without APSOLUT Zero, you would have to select between accuracy or throughput. For 100% accuracy, you would wait until the last package reached the last reconciliation point and then make a few more packages in order to make up the differences. This, of course, introduces a lot of delays while the operator waits for the last package to reach the end of the line.

The other extreme mode of operation is throughput. In this mode, a job is ended at the draw amount without concern of possible losses at the stacker. Any shortages or overages would be ignored. This achieves maximum throughput but it sacrifices accuracy to do so.

With APSOLUT Zero, you can achieve accuracy and throughput. At least two stackers must be available for APSOLUT Zero to function properly. The stackers operate in Backup Mode during Full Production and Dedicated Mode during job changeover. Two jobs are simultaneously produced and delivered to the downstream equipment. One job is in full production while the other job is repairing final packages. These jobs start back-to-back with zero empty pockets in-between. This unique combination of software technology promotes maximum process throughput and delivers superior package accuracy.

APSOLUT Data^™

APSOLUT Data utilizes software technology that records production metrics by hopper, piece, and package. Performance metrics are created for advertisers to gauge market coverage and for the newspaper to deliver increased quality to the their advertisers. It also gives distribution performance metrics to measure actual quantities delivered. It allows the Packaging Center to validate data down to the carrier route level and increase the quality of service provided to their customers.

Traditional inserter control systems only record hopper misses. This does not allow the Packaging Center to gather any useful information for process improvement. The APSOLUT system tracks three different types of misses down to the carrier route level: the hopper, piece, and package miss.

The hopper miss is similar to the traditional miss that has always been recorded. The piece miss is a new technology that tracks piece data independently from the hopper data. This status counter is primarily used for evaluating the performance of an individual piece. This status count can be extremely important for monitoring the performance of out-of-spec pieces. It can also be useful in determining which hopper setup has the best record at inserting a piece. Separate counts are maintained for each piece down to the carrier route level. The package miss is another new technology that tracks, by piece, the number of packages that have left the Workcell without a piece. This status counter represents the final percentage of misses, per piece, present in the output. Simply because a particular hopper missed an insertion does not mean the package was delivered without the assigned piece. This piece could also be feeding on another hopper and successfully insert on the same package. In this case, a hopper missed but the package did not. The ability to record package misses down to the carrier route level gives you the feedback you need for verification purposes and customer service requests.

(The APSOLUT system also tracks multiples down to the carrier route level in a similar fashion: the hopper, piece, and package multiple.)

With APSOLUT Data, the Packaging Center is armed with superior tools to track piece performance and settings by piece ID down to the carrier route level. Tracking performance by piece allows you to gather useful data on the performance of pieces regardless of the inserter/hopper that they ran on. Tracking piece performance by job detail (usually a carrier/truck route) allows detailed information about the piece to be gathered continuously throughout a production run.