“With this new technology, there’s no need for drives to be installed in the controls cabinet, so we deliver a machine with a controls cabinet about 50% smaller than before.”

That’s how Zoran Momich, president of Z Automation Company (ZAC, PELV Booth C-3105), sums up one of the benefits gained by selecting PacDrive from ELAU as the automation platform in ZAC's new CH-7.5-250C horizontal cartoning machine. The reason the controls cabinet contains no drives is because both servo drive and servo motor are integrated in a single unit. These integrated motor/drive units are installed wherever an axis of motion is required. ZAC not only cuts down on the size of its controls cabinet, it also simplifies wiring connections and shortens installation time. Additional simplicity and compactness are gained because no PLC is involved. Both logic and motion are governed by the PacDrive automation controller.

ZAC is among the first to use ELAU’s Intelligent Servo Modules. According to Momich, the servo technology supplied by ELAU (Booth S-5414) brings another important machine characteristic: flexibility.

“Changeover from a one-count to a 10-count, or anything in between, is done in ten minutes or less, which we believe to be the fastest in the category,” says Momich. “And no tools are required. It’s a matter of picking from a menu on the touch screen. You select the recipe you want, and all the adjustments on the machine are made automatically.”

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