Murrelektronik’s Cube67 fieldbus delivers lean solution for packaging machinery company

When German packaging machinery experts, Transnova Ruf, needed to streamline their large and complex electrical installations, they turned to Murrelektronik’s flexible and modular Cube67 fieldbus module for the ultimate ‘lean’ solution.

Transnova Ruf’s ‘lean’ I/O module requirements

Transnova Ruf, based in Southern Germany, is a successful packaging machinery company. About 250 employees design and produce turnkey machines and systems for secondary and end of line packaging. These systems pack products for shipping and distribution. Single units are put into a box, or prepared in shelf-ready packaging, then the boxes are stacked on pallets.

This requires a multi-stage packaging process. Therefore, the engineers have to design and implement comprehensive and efficient systems that are able to link a series of consecutive processes. Since the mid-1990s, Transnova Ruf has been using robots in many applications, making automation levels very high.

Their state-of-the-art packaging systems use a large number of sensors and valves to ensure smooth, fully automated operation. However, because the machines are so large their electrical installation requires a ‘lean’ solution.

Murrelektronik’s Cube67 fieldbus solution

Transnova Ruf uses Murrelektronik’s Cube67 fieldbus system as the backbone of the system’s electrical installation. Since the fieldbus modules are connected with pluggable cables, their engineers were able to put together a very flexible solution that can be quickly assembled and disassembled as needed.

Furthermore, the system is easily expandable. It doesn’t require a lot of modifications from the electro-technical point of view. Often, another Cube67 module can be integrated simply by connecting it to a nearby module with a Murrelektronik hybrid (data and power) cable. The double-ended hybrid cables also lower the risk of wiring errors.

Fifteen Cube67 Pro Net bus nodes are installed in this system. The modules collect information from the sensors (mainly light curtains that detect the position of the product) and transfer the signals to the valves. The fieldbus system is responsible for around 70 drives in this installation. These SEW motors, located at various positions along the conveyor line, are equipped with integrated frequency converters.

Practical and versatile I/O system concept

“This solution doesn't require any switch boxes and terminal boxes in the field, where the space is already confined”, says Hermann Schindler, who is responsible for hardware planning. Using Murrelektronik’s Movimot function module, Transnova Ruf connects a component for the Cube67 system that makes these motors easy to connect.

Because each port on a Cube67 module can handle two signals, Transnova Ruf’s engineers use T-couplers to split the signals in some applications. In these cases, the T-couplers connect M8 cables. To connect the data transfer unit that sends information from the palletising unit to the high rack warehouse, Transnova Ruf’s engineers use a Cube67 valve module with 16 contacts for the exchange of digital signals.

By implementing Cube67, Transnova Ruf achieves a practical and versatile installation concept. It fits into the new packaging system and, due to its modular design, it is a practical solution that offers the potential for future expansions.

For more information, please visit www.murrelektronik.uk. To speak to a Murrelektronik adviser today, call +44 (0)161 72831-33 or email [email protected].