Shapingup for success
CPX reduces costsandensures functionality
In the late19thcentury theEnglishpotterThomasTwyfordsecuredaplace
for himself in thehistoryof sanitarywarewhenheproduced thefirst
one-piece ceramic toilet. Today, PCLCeramicsLtd. isoneof the leading
developersandmanufacturersof pressure castingsystems for ceramic
sanitaryware. Inorder to furtherexpand itsmarketposition, PCLCeramics
workedwith Festo to implement aprogramme to reducemachinebuild
costs. Byusing the latest technologies, it hasbeenpossible toachievea
long-termgain inefficiencywithout sacrificing functionalityor reliability.
“Theadditional power supplieson thevalve terminalsmake it possible
tocreatea two-tier safetysystemaswecanprovidevalveswithaseparate
24Vpower supply”, explainsNickRiddington, EngineeringManager at
PCLCeramics. “Thismeans thatwhenyouopen thedoorof themachine
housing, somevalveswill bede-energisedandwill stopworking,while
otherswill continue tooperate.The lower tierbecomesoperationalwhen
thedoor isopenedandaffectsonly thosevalves that areassociatedwith
movement on themachine. If theemergency-stopbutton ispressed,
all theother valveson themachinewill thenbede-energised inorder to
ensure thesafetyof theprocess.”
PCLCeramicshasequipped theCPXmanifoldson theirmore recent
machineswith the latest valveoptionMPA-L. This reduces costswithout
compromising theflexibilityand function integrationof theelectrical ter-
minal CPX. A further CPXmanifold isusedasapurelyelectric I/Omodule
without valves. Eightmoremanifoldsaccommodate combinationsof
electricandpneumaticvalves.
UnitedKingdom
Castingsanitaryware:
themoulds
areopenedautomaticallyanda robot
enters theprocessarea tounload the
injectionmouldingmachine.
Unique function:
theadditional power supply for the
CPX is installedunder the I/Omodulesandoffersan
additional safety feature.
Small footprint:
thanks to their degreesof protection IP65
and IP67, theCPX terminal and I/Omodules canbe installed
directlyon themachinewithout anadditional cabinet.
