Keep an eye (or 4 eyes) on your film line.

Monitoring blown and cast film lines with multiple video cameras is a cost-effective troubleshooting and supervisory technique, according to Macro Engineering & Technology Inc., Mississauga, Ont. Macro developed the concept years ago for highly sensitive PVDC blown film lines, which took as many as three operators to start up and were tricky to operate. Now Macro offers the supervisory recording system to other processors for $22,000 with four cameras and software. Extra cameras are $500 each. A typical blown film system uses four cameras to watch the die, winders, oscillating nip, and edge trimming. Extra cameras could observe fill levels in hoppers.

The big advantage is that one operator can keep track of a half-dozen extrusion lines with split-screen viewing. For example, operators can spot problems in nips or gusseting without having to climb the tower in hot summer weather. Cameras also make start-up safer, showing that operators are not in the way of nips or winders as gaps close. They also store a record so that if a bubble comes down, operators can review exactly what went wrong. Macro has a half-dozen systems running in blown film and is now building a 30-camera installation for a complex cast film line. A six-camera installation on a blown film line in Macro's lab will be shown on a video monitor at NPE. Tel: [phone] * PT Direct: 597VB

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