Simplified production line

Kinnerton Confectionery, a UK-based manufacturer of chocolate and novelty confectionery, has teamed up with Siemens Industry to simplify its production line.

Keith Thornhill for Siemens Industry says, “The existing production line was a combination of various vendor technologies and a number of machines, some of which were ageing and increasingly difficult to maintain. Such a complex operation invariably led to performance issues as parts of the production line were unreliable. This was creating challenges in maintaining product consistency, the efficiency of the line itself, and the need to support the overall automation platform going forward. Retrofitting to reverse the impact of such challenges lay at the centre of our approach.”

The solution – Siemens’ Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) platform – aimed to take a holistic view to the entire production line process. The TIA solution was based upon the specification of a new motion control system linked to a PLC with 12 axis to control the product through all stages. Simotion D445, Sinamics S120 and 1FK7 motors form the basis of what is now a vastly simplified automation solution.

Keith Thornhill comments: “Where previously a number of machines combined to make up the production line, with the integration into a single motion control system across the line’s entire length, essentially one machine is now performing the overall production control. The solution is based on viewing the production line as a single entity and not a combination of individual machines.

“The TIA solution has led to significant improvements both in terms of overall reliability and efficiency for the line, as well as delivering total confidence in the consistency of product quality. An estimate from Kinnerton’s management has seen an increase in the line’s performance of approximately 15% due to the new control system which is great news for Kinnerton as it operates within a highly competitive sector.”