This application took place in Greece by DataMech for their customer Talia Properties EOOD.
The main aims of this project were to create an automated carpet wrapping machine which could also measure the dimensions of the carpet and send that data of each carpet to a data base of the carpet cleaning company by using a barcode scanner function.
Talia Properties EOOD chose the Horner EXL6 for this application for its compact size and all-in-one features, communication options and cost effectiveness.
Further valuable features of this XL series model for this application included:
- 640×480 LCD TFT colour graphics display with a high-resolution resistive touchscreen
- 4 function keys and a system key
- USB 2.0 On-the-Go port (mini-B 5pin) is available for programming.
- USB 2.0 Host port (A) is available for exchanging files with USB FLASH drives.
- Two (2) RS-232 and one (1) RS-485 port support RTU/Modbus Master/Slave, ASCII In/Out, and PLC/Drive downloadable protocols
The following was utilized for this application:
- Ethernet to communicate with database
- 1 Rs-485 to communicate with VFDs
- 1 RS-485 to communicate with database
- 1 RS-232 to communicate with barcode scanner
There was also a benefit from the ability to use Advanced Ladder in Cscape, Horner’s free PLC programming software. Cscape gives the ability to integrate the development of the screens and the logic together.
In the design of the application, DataMech gave their customers the flexibility of 3 options for the VFDs. With the flexibility that is available for connectivity options and protocols, It is possible for them to use 3 different brands which can be used at the same time in any position without the need of extra programming. It is as simple as using the buttons on screen to select the desired brand for each.
Since the implementation of the new solution the customer can now control the VFD from the screen of controller as well as any changes required of the speed and other parameters of the machine easily.
The use of the barcode reader functions now allows the sending of scanned barcode tags from the carpets to a database. This is then used to work out the total cost of cleaning. It can calculate the total meters squared and the fabric type of the carpet.