METTLER TOLEDO
 

Automated Piece Counting System Reduces Control Activities

The plastic components manufacturer ELESA has chosen METTLER TOLEDO weighing and counting technology. ELESA trusts in an automated piece counting system as it can achieve a high degree automation guaranteeing maximum productivity of their molding process.

Achieving higher productivityELESA’s company culture is strongly oriented towards product quality and the success of its trade marks guaranteeing reliability and ongoing attention over customer needs all over the world. Already certified ISO 9001 in 1993 and ISO 14001 since 2007, ELESA is very careful when it chooses measurement instruments, machines and technology used along the entire manufacturing process.
 
Achieving higher productivity in the molding process
That is why it has been using METTLER TOLEDO for some time; said solutions guarantee maximum precision, quality and reliability not just in the manufacturing departments but also for intermediate warehouses and logistics centers which have to guarantee fast, precise shipments to end customers.
 
“In this case, our target was to achieve higher productivity and precision in the molding of thermo-plastic material items by eliminating the manual post-process weighing and counting activities, keeping downtime to a minimum and reducing our staff’s control activities ” says Marcello Porro, Technical and Production Manager of ELESA S.p.A.
 
Customer needs
The specific need was to introduce fully automated piece counting on one of the plastic component molding machines. The need was for a piece counting scale to be interfaced electronically with the tilting chute of the belt conveying molded parts to the discharge containers. Having reached the target weight (or count), an electric impulse changes chute inclination. Then the pieces are sent towards a second container able to collect production until the staff in charge intervenes for recovery; the staff is also alerted by a sound and light alarm.
 
Customer benefits
The advantages of this solution are absolute counting precision enabling direct storage in the warehouse of production avoiding further passages. However, the most important aspect is the chance to profitably manage filling discharge containers. Furthermore, ELESA benefits from easy recalling of memorized settings, avoiding material falling on the ground because the recipient has not been replaced, and especially prevention of continual production interruptions to replace full containers with empty ones. 
 
More than just counting
The solution proposed was the piece counting terminal IND445. The «count+» level of the METTLER TOLEDO 4-Series, offers everything in just one instrument. Besides piece weighing and counting, the scale features direct entering and simple memorizing of tare, ID and target values thanks to the numerical keyboard and internal database with 100 memories.
 
The 4-Series has a resistant chassis in die-cast aluminum and meets the most severe EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) standards, guaranteeing long instrumentation life and no breakdowns during daily operations. Based on the model chosen, the systems manage weights ranging from milligrams to tons.
 
To adapt to the customer’s ever more demanding needs, the IND445 scale has several connection options such as RS232, RS422/RS485, Ethernet, USB (Slave) and digital I/O (4 in / 4 out), making it possible to build an automated weighing systems reducing costly manual operations.
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