Mead launches latest servo-drive technology

HIGH-speed carton packaging machine manufacturer Mead Packaging, of Bristol, has extended its servo-drive technology to develop its latest offering, the Mead Intelligen.

HIGH-speed carton packaging machine manufacturer Mead Packaging, of Bristol, has extended its servo-drive technology to develop its latest offering, the Mead Intelligen. Having launched its first 100% servo machine in 1993, the data gathered since then has been exploited into technology that converts continuous operating data into sophisticated machine performance intelligence through Mead's new generation III PC-based control architecture. Alongside a programme of incorporating stronger and lighter materials into its systems to reduce inertia, the result is greater data measurement sensitivity, enabling more accurate profiling of machine processes. A policy of modular system design allows servo information to be monitored for each process independently. The software interprets the data against refined component torque profiles. This means potential problems and failure modes can be identified with greater accuracy than before, avoiding the need for traditional reactive maintenance, or unnecessary preventative maintenance, or PC-based schedules for maintenance timing; all of which take little account of actual running conditions. The difference with Meads technology, claims the company, is that the analysis system is conditional - driven by operating data so as to optimise maintenance timing. By alerting production managers, operator and maintenance staff, machine part replacement can be forecast and scheduled for the most convenient period in the production plan.