Fast format change with IO-Link

In analyzing the optimization potential, it was the complicated, time-consuming setup and adjustment process of the photoelectric contrast sensor used for print mark detection that stood out especially. The print mark, sometimes in the form of an inconspicuous line on the back side of the tube, is used during the production process for precise orientation of the tube regardless of its shape. Later, when the tube is filled, closed, sealed and packed, the print mark serves as a reference for the tube orientation, so that the tubes filled with high-value face creams sit in the exact same orientation on the drugstore shelf and have a uniform, harmonious appearance.

Print mark sensor with potential for improvement

The previous setting procedure for the existing print mark sensor using keys directly on the sensor and in teach-in mode proved to be time-consuming and only rarely repeatable, so that the settings always had to be started over from the beginning, even if the same configuration had already been used many times. The remedy here was to use a sensor with IO‑Link interface.
IO-Link process devices can be employed as plug-and-play using an IO-Link master in integrated system concepts. Additional information such as the device identity and diagnostic data, but also including parameter data, are then simple to transmit.
The latter are needed for example when a size or recipe change needs to be performed on-the-fly for flexible lot sizes.
The particular benefit: all communication tasks require no more than a standard, unshielded 3-conductor cable with M12 connector for digital point-to-point connection.