Many of today’s consumer and commercial products require customization to meet the customer’s needs. In this application, each item on the production line has variations in the color or processing technique

The system consists of 300 feet of conveyer, moving product pallets through three separate paint machines, past manual operators, and through drying stations. If there is a quality problem, the pallet may be removed without affecting or holding up the system. Each plat panel paint machine has multiple spray guns that may be turned on to match the product requirements.

The work instruction barcode is scanned at the loading station linking the recipe to the product pallet. Each of the machines and manual stations scan the pallet to select the required color and finishing operation. The persons doing the manual operations read instructions from flat panel displays as the pallets arrive.

These pallet barcodes are printed on labels and attached to the bottom of the fifty pallets. A stationary barcode reader is located at the openings between the conveyers at locations just before the paint machines and manual processing stations. The Microscan Barcode Readers communicate directly to Red Lion HMIs communicating via Ethernet with OPC communication. The flexible programming language of the Red Lion Units allow the coordination of the paint profiles to be communicated without separate computer system.

The complete paint line system built by Mannix LLC in Mecosta MI, uses Kollmorgen Servo Equipment, Intek Actuators, Panasonic PLCs, Phoenix Ethernet Switches, and seven Microscan Barcode Readers. The programming, including the barcode data design, servo control system, and Ethernet Communications was designed and installed by Kane Engineering.