US 8,463,422 B2 · Apparatus and method for user-specific monitoring and control of production

Abstract

An extruder or injection molding machine with user-specifically monitoring and regulating processing of plastic materials includes a material feed, a plasticizer, and a mold. A process input variable, e.g. cost of the apparatus, raw material, power, and processed quantity, can be inputted with an input device and transmitted to a controller. A process monitoring variable, e.g. the duration of a product cycle, product cost, raw material used/power consumed per product cycle, expected purchase price for a given quantity of a product, and number of product cycles until maintenance, can be determined in real time from a process control variable and/or process input variable. A value of a process monitoring variable, such as the actual desired, or mean value, the value integrated since starting, the history or tendency of this value, can be outputted on an output device in form of a characteristic diagram.

Claims29

Dependent claims

A device for processing a plastic material, comprising:

a material supply device which supplies the plastic material as raw material;
a plasticizing device which plasticizes or homogenizes, or both, the supplied raw material;
a molding device which forms the plasticized or homogenized raw material into a product that is removed from the molding device after a predetermined cool-down or hardening time,
a control device which controls processing via process parameters and which is connected for data transmission with an input device receiving a value of a process input quantity or a process control quantity, or both,
a processor which is connected for data transmission with the control device and determines, from a predetermined process control quantity or a predetermined process input quantity selected from an actual value or a history of at least one of a process measurement, monitoring and control quantity, and an experience or user limit value for this quantity, a process monitoring quantity representing at least one limit value for a maximum number of additional process cycles, before service is required, so as to thereby minimize service and repair costs by relying on a corresponding actual need, and
an output device connected to the control device outputting and displaying in form of a characteristic curve field a value of the process monitoring quantity.

3 more elements

A device for processing a plastic material having an operating mode minimizing product costs, comprising:

a material supply device which supplies the plastic material as raw material;
a plasticizing device which plasticizes or homogenizes, or both, the supplied raw material;
a molding device which forms the plasticized or homogenized raw material into a product that is removed from the molding device after a predetermined cool-down or hardening time,
a control device which controls processing via process parameters and which is connected for data transmission with an input device receiving a value of a process input quantity or a process control quantity, or both,
a processor which is connected for data transmission with the control device and regulates, based on the received value of the process input quantity or the process control quantity, product costs such that the product costs assume a minimum value, wherein the processor determines a process monitoring quantity representing product quality and prevents the product quality from falling below a lower experience or operator-defined limit value, and
an output device connected to the control device outputting and displaying in form of a characteristic curve field a value of a process monitoring quantity.

3 more elements

A device for processing a plastic material and having an operating mode minimizing energy usage per product cycle, comprising:

a material supply device which supplies the plastic material as raw material;
a plasticizing device which plasticizes or homogenizes, or both, the supplied raw material;
a molding device which forms the plasticized or homogenized raw material into a product that is removed from the molding device after a predetermined cool-down or hardening time,
a control device which controls processing via process parameters and which is connected for data transmission with an input device receiving a value of a process input quantity or a process control quantity, or both,
a processor which is connected for data transmission with the control device and regulates, based on the received value of the process input quantity or the process control quantity, energy usage per product cycle such that the energy usage per product cycle assumes a minimum value, wherein the processor determines a process monitoring quantity representing product quality and prevents the product quality from falling below a lower experience or operator-defined limit value, and
an output device connected to the control device outputting and displaying in form of a characteristic curve field a value of a process monitoring quantity.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for user-specific monitoring and control of production

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for user-specific monitoring and control of production

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims29