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All-in-One PLC improves usability and reliability of extrusion equipment

Industry - Plastic industry, Miscellaneous

Summary: Eurotech Extrusion Technology manufactures plastic extrusion machinery. They use the UniStream modular, all-in-one PLC+HMI to control their line of blown film extruders. These controllers offer Eurotech an easy to use interface, precise temperature control and a responsive alarm system.

"Unitronics provides quick feedback in updating SW referring to customers' requests and needs"

Eurotech Extrusion Technology is an OEM with 20 years of experience manufacturing plastic extrusion machinery. One of their specialties is equipment for blown film extrusion, used in laboratories, R&D and medium sized production lines. In order to meet their customers’ needs, Eurotech integrate powerful, attractive control systems to automate their machines.

Eurotech had previously used Unitronics Vision series all-in-one PLCs to control their extrusion equipment, but had started using a competitor’s product. However, they switched back to Unitronics products following the launch of the UniStream line; these modular, all-in-one PLCs offer a flexible, easy to use control platform. Eurotech uses the UniStream programmable controllers 7-, 10-, and 15-inch HMIs with a variety of I/O modules, which snap on to the back of the HMI alongside the CPU to create an all-in-one PLC+HMI controller.

UniStream presented Eurotech with a clear technical and aesthetic advantage. They were able to implement alarm management system to alert users to any errors or problems that arise in real time. They also use the UniStream’s PID to maintain the temperature at the optimal range for the extrusion process. These features made the UniStream a powerful control option, while the integrated touchscreen HMI—which offers support for audio, video, PDF reader and VNC viewer—makes operating the machine straight-forward and intuitive.

Additionally, Unitronics provides UniLogic, the all-in-one software environment for UniStream programmable controllers, at no added cost. This single environment software enables Eurotech to write ladder logic, design HMI screens, configure communications and more without switching between programs. Engineers at Eurotech were also impressed by Unitronics ability to offer, in their own words, “quick feedback … in updating the software [based on] customers’ requests and needs.” With Unitronics, Eurotech Extrusion Technologies has built both a technical and commercial partnership.

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