Data exchange: Standard instead of custom-built

Wilhelm Bahmüller Maschinenbau Präzisionswerkzeuge GmbH is a globally recognized specialist for machines and systems for the packaging industry. The company develops and manufactures machines and systems for corrugated board processing — with special functions and additional equipment that perfectly meet all requirements and demands.

One of the program highlights is the Turbox II folding carton gluer. "The machine produces ready-to-sell cartons — laid flat, ready for transport, bundled and palletized," emphasizes Armin Haag, Technical Director Electrical Engineering in the Corrugated Board Processing Systems division. The machine impresses with a high degree of automation. From the ACE feeder to the press belt, all adjustment axes are integrated into the Boxflow Control concept. This simplifies setup and operation, resulting in considerable savings in changeover times.

This control concept is based on the Elau Pacdrive M system from Schneider Electric. The goal was to easily transfer all production and machine data to customer-specific production data acquisition. For this purpose, the corresponding controller data was to be stored in the Firebird database. "Normally, an intermediate tool is programmed to transfer the data to the database; this was also our first approach," describes the technician outlining the possible solution. The problem is the shortage of high-level language programmers. "We have good PLC programmers, but no one besides me can implement high-level languages," he continues.

This is where the SQL4automation Connector comes into play — a software solution to conveniently connect robot controllers and PLCs to databases via Ethernet. "This gives us the typical advantages of a standard tool: a middle layer is not needed and the corresponding developers can be deployed on other projects." The few settings in the control logic can be handled by the PLC programmers themselves without any difficulty. This significantly reduces the workload and saves resources. "Without having to worry about intermediate tools, changes can be implemented immediately in the SQL database, even during ongoing processes." Data exchange with the BDE system now runs conveniently via the database. The collected information can be used company-wide. "As a bonus, this also makes the machines capable of remote maintenance."

The SQL4automation Connector has now been running smoothly in the Turbox machines for over a year. "We don't even notice that the solution is installed," says A. Haag. "For an automation technician, that is the highest praise." The next goal is to link several machines together via a database using the SQL4automation Connector.