Design and Development of Prototype for Caser Machine

Abstract

In the present era of highly growing technology, automation has become so much mandatory in almost each and every field, especially in food and beverage industries for filling and packaging purpose. PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) are most widely used for automation in many industries in order to increase productivity and to reduce cost. The main goal of this project is to develop a prototype for Caser Machine, which is used for packaging purpose of RGB (Returnable Glass Bottles) into crates or boxes in food and beverage industries. The main function of the machine is to pick and place the Glass Bottles into crates or boxes in a desired manner. Gripper assembly is used for this pick and place operation, which is operated through a pneumatic supply. To maintain and obtain the logical sequence of all operations, all operations are synchronized with a single main drive. A large number of sensors working on different principles, are used for different purposes like safety, object detection etc. All the operations take place automatically in a desired sequence as per the program stored in a PLC. Fault occurrence during normal operation of the machine will be detected and a message will be displayed on the HMI screen, so that operator can troubleshoot the problem and machine can be put in its normal operating mode again. Imparting training on actual machine with real time application may not be possible always. Hence the need for prototype is arise. The main purpose for this prototype development is to provide hands-on training to the students as well as industry people. The prototype shall be capable of demonstrating main functionality of the actual caser machine.