Helping Automate the Packaging and Palletizing Process
Cross Automation recently worked with a chemical manufacturer in Western North Carolina who was struggling to find and keep labor. With a turnover rate of over 80%, they realized they needed to do something differently and reached out to us to discuss automation opportunities.
Our customer has thirteen packaging lines which form, fill and seal the product into bags. Operators then put the bags into boxes and the boxes onto pallets. They wanted to start with palletizing and have a palletizer flexible enough to run multiple box sizes.
The Innovation Team at Cross Automation designed a palletizer using a Fanuc industrial robot with a custom multi- zone vacuum gripper, enclosed in a safety fence with light curtains. In addition, each cell includes a reject station prior to the robot, in order to separate the unfinished or malformed boxes before they could be grabbed by the robot. It also has an automated break detection system to improve safety and protect the robot from harm.
Technical Guide: Temperature Ramping When Tuning PID Loops
Cross’s Process Solutions engineers are often asked to control a temperature in a PID loop that must ramp up as rapidly as possible to a target setpoint, minimize any overshoot, and control steadily at that setpoint once achieving it.
Senior Systems Integration Engineer Chris Hardy wrote this technical guide to explain one method he recently used to achieve this. This is one method to achieve a rapid ramp with minimal overshoot, then good steady-state control at the target. Configuring the system to automatically capture steady state CV and adjust pre-cutoff offsets can reduce the need for manual tuning going forward.
What's New at Cross
In the Market for a Coriolis Flow Meter?
Coriolis meters are among the most accurate flow meters on the market and in specific applications, it makes sense to use one instead of a different technology. Because they output directly in mass, their reading is not affected by temperature and pressure as volume is. So for applications with high temperature variation or for measuring expensive materials, a Corliolis meter may be the best choice.
Cross partner AW-Lake put together this comparison of popular brands of Coriolis meters to highlight the specifications, certifications, communications and price of each. As you can see, the Tricor Classic Series of meters from AW-Lake matches the specification of some of the leading brands without the sky-high price tag. If you’re in the market for a Coriolis meter, Cross Process Solutions can help you compare models to determine the right spec at the right price for your particular application.
Did you know?
Legal-for-Trade Scales: Are Yours Meeting All the Requirements?
Any scale which is used for commercial transactions, where products are bought and sold based on weight, must be legal-for-trade. But what does legal-for-trade really mean? And how can you make sure that your scale is compliant?
In the United States, Handbook 44 outlines the requirements for legal for trade scales. When a scale meets the standards set by Handbook 44, it ensures that the scale is capable of providing accurate and consistent measurements repeatedly. In turn, this prevents disputes and ensures fairness in transactional situations.
All legal-for-trade scales must be clearly marked with a sticker, metal plate, or alternate form of identification displaying that the scale is NTEP approved. If the scale is not appropriately marked, it is not considered legal-for-trade and cannot be used in commercial transactions involving weight.
One other requirement for being trade approved is that the scale has been inspected by a calibration service provider for the requirements of HB44. They then submit paperwork to the State Weights and Measures department, although the state reserves the option to retest the scale to verify accuracy.
Sample Conditioning: What Is It and When Should You Use It?
For processes with aggressive or otherwise particularly sensitive media, measuring pH, conductivity, or dissolved oxygen is not as easy as pulling measurements from the mainline. Some processes require a media sample to be extracted for treatment and conditioning before an accurate measurement can be made.
Sample conditioning allows operators to understand a process using media samples that would otherwise overwhelm or damage typical sensors due to high pressure, extreme heat or inconsistent flow rates. The experts in Cross Process Solutions can help specify the appropriate sample conditioning elements for your particular process from our partner M4Knick.
Calibration Provider Not Getting Your Equipment Back Fast Enough?
Calibration is an essential part of compliance in the medical device industry, almost a cost of doing business. But if your calibration provider isn’t getting your equipment back to you in a timely manner, you have the extra cost of purchasing and maintaining spare equipment while it’s out.
Cross Precision Measurement is a full service, ISO 17025-accredited calibration provider with twenty labs across the Southeast and Midwest, including our newest labs in Atlanta and Charleston. We are accredited in over 150 different parameters and can perform NIST-traceable calibration on literally thousands of types of equipment. Critically, 90% of the equipment we calibrate is turned around in 7 days or less.
Don’t carry the cost of spare equipment because your calibration provider is too slow. See how Cross Precision Measurement can help!
Cross Provides Tangible Value for You
Improve Efficiency
Simplify your rupture disc installation while ensuring they are accurately torqued by using a pre-torqued rupture disc holder from Cross partner Continental Disc. Apply the precise level of torque in the controlled environment of a workshop, prior to final installation, to maintain the precise loading of the rupture disc, even where poor flange alignment and gasket cold flow may be an issue.
Not sure which rupture disc or which holder you need? The experts at Cross Process Solutions can help specify one for your particular process.
Improve Efficiency
In industries that rely on nitrogen blanketing for tank storage, like chemical processing, minimizing nitrogen consumption can yield significant cost savings. The Groth Blanket Gas Regulator 3011L is specifically designed to help facilities achieve these savings through advanced control of blanket gas flow.
By maintaining optimal pressure levels within tanks, the 3011L reduces excess nitrogen usage, prevents contamination, and enhances safety, translating to substantial cost reductions and operational efficiencies. Implementing the Groth 3011L Blanket Gas Regulator can reduce nitrogen usage by up to 30%, depending on tank usage and environmental factors.
Improve Efficiency
For processes in harsh or outdoor environments which require transmitters, alarms or LOI displays, Cross partner Brooks Instrument has improved the IP rating on their MT3809G variable area flowmeters. They are now available with IP66/67 NEMA 4X ratings, meaning they are perfect for heavy duty liquid, gas and steam applications. The meter also features an intrinsically safe aluminum housing with improved corrosion resistance and a broad temperature and pressure range.
