Honeywell aims to revolutionize scanning measurement with ZipLine
Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS), Houston, has been supplying online scanning measurement systems to extruders of plastic sheet and film for nearly 50 years, and it chose the opening day of NPE to launch its new ZipLine scanning measurement device. The company calls the device revolutionary and the next generation of scanning measurement.
If you are familiar with the film and sheet scanning devices currently used on extrusion lines, even a quick look at the ZipLine tells you it's different. But Honeywell says looking different was not the objective. The looks result from the desire to use leading-edge technology to create a scanning system without the size, bulk, cost and complexity of traditional scanners.
Jim Molnar, strategic marketing manager at Honeywell, told PMM that the O-frame architecture of continuous web-scanning systems has remained much as it was when they came to market in the late 1950s and early 1960s. But today's lighter, faster, more compact technology does not require the heavy, bulky structural components required 50 years ago. "The ZipLine started as a complete solution rethinking," Molnar said. A team of Honeywell engineers was asked, "How would you design a web-scanning system if you were starting today from scratch?"
So the ZipLine skips the traditional rigid O-frame structure, instead using tensioned stainless steel cables to support intelligent, self-driven measurement modules. The cables also supply power to the measurement modules. Communication between the modules and the support system is done with a secure Wi-Fi network and an onboard compressor provides air to the sensor. Add those features to the absence of water, and you eliminate the need for a moving power track to manage cables and hoses.
The ZipLine measurement modules can scan at speeds up to 400mm per second and deliver high-resolution basis-weight profiles that can be used with the advanced cross-directional profile controls of Honeywell's MXProLine. The modules also continuously monitor and, if necessary, automatically adjust sensor alignment.
ZipLine is compact and can be mounted either directly on a machine frame to save space or on freestanding cable supports as a drop-in replacement for existing O-frame scanners. The ZipLine uses the same high-performance Honeywell sensors as the company's traditional flat-sheet scanners.
Built-in, Web-accessible diagnostics make troubleshooting simple, and being Web-based, diagnostics can be accessed by any local or remote computer with network access to the ZipLine's measurement support processor.
When PMM visited Honeywell's NPE booth, Ben Blanchette, product marketing director at HPS, told us the ZipLine might be more revolutionary for what it doesn't have, including such things as rigid scanner beams, drive belts, carriage wheels, a power track, compressed air and water. He said it has about 90 percent fewer parts than a traditional scanner. Fewer parts mean less maintenance.
The ZipLine system is compact enough that it can be shipped to a processor on a single pallet economically. And when it arrives, the components are easy to assemble, making installation fast and less costly. The compact, low-mass architecture also means the ZipLine can be mounted in places where traditional scanners don't fit. The only utilities needed are power and an Ethernet connection. Maximum web width is 4,000mm and there are plans to go wider.
When PMM talked with Blanchette on the last day of the show, we asked how show attendees had reacted to the new concept. He said he was a bit surprised by how little negative reaction there was. "Most people told me that it was about time this function was modernized." It probably helped when he told them that besides its performance benefits, the ZipLine is designed for lower total cost of ownership.
Rob Neilley, senior correspondent
Contact:
Honeywell Process Solutions 800-822-7673, www.honeywellprocess.com