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RJRT retrofits its future

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco modernizes case packers and robotic palletizers with updated controls.

With servo drives, Profibus, SERCOS, and more, the main control cabinets are fully loaded with everything but point-to-point wir
With servo drives, Profibus, SERCOS, and more, the main control cabinets are fully loaded with everything but point-to-point wir

For most companies, 99% uptime is only a dream. At R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.’s Tobaccoville, NC, manufacturing plant, that lofty performance was business as usual for its expansive case-packing and palletizing operations. Nonetheless, business as usual was no longer an option as outdated controls compelled RJRT to make major changes to those circa-1984 workhorse machines. The machinery would have to be either replaced or upgraded.

“Working against 99% efficiency is an unenviable position to be in,” says RJRT project leader Ricky Thomas. “If we reduced efficiency, the entire project would be seen as a failure.”

RJRT had a clear-cut deadline pressure four years ago: Its controls vendor, Siemens, gave three years’ notice, saying that after 2002 it would no longer provide support for the controls technology RJRT had been using. Parts like motors and drives had become increasingly unavailable and more expensive, according to Thomas.

“In two or three years, if we did not make these changes, we could have equipment that would not run—zero uptime,” says Thomas. “The choice was to have equipment available for service in the future.” RJRT felt that its best short-term solution was to rebuild the machines’ controls, says Thomas, who worked closely with RJRT lead technician David Hall.

Major undertaking

After a prototype proved successful in 2000, in 2002 RJRT converted six sets of paired, adjacent case packers and robotic palletizers. Six more sets were converted in 2003; the lines will continue to be converted at a rate of six systems per year. RJRT operates more than 75 case packer and palletizer combos, which run around the clock five days a week.

The Bosch Rexroth upgrade consists of a new Bosch Rexroth PowerPC robotic controller for the palletizer robot; four Ecodrives® with a SERCOS digital, open communications network; four MKD AC servomotors with absolute feedback; and bulk-head motor power and feedback connectors that allow easy motor removal.

“We selected Bosch Rexroth because of a familiarity we had with their components,” says Thomas. RJRT also liked their components’ modularity. “They’re interchangeable for modular applications where we’re trying to conserve spare parts costs.”

Siemens technology includes the new S7 PLC, which operates both the case packer and the palletizer, and a Simatic® touchscreen human/machine interface. It communicates with the Bosch Rexroth PPC robotic controller via Profibus network link from Bosch Rexroth.

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