PEGASO: MAFLEX Smart Supervision System

Since 1997, Maflex has been providing converting solutions to customers worldwide, working as a flexible and dynamic company.
The last few years have been very important to the growth of the company, thanks to numerous enhancements on the machines. In 2018 Maflex introduced the HERMES rewinder with the tool-less product changeover (also available on the “little sister” ARES). In 2019, Maflex introduced the HERACLE embosser featuring an automatic embossing roll exchange system.

In response to multiple customer’s requests, the Maflex R&D Department was tasked with making the machinery more interactive and accessible. The answer was the launch of PEGASO!

PEGASO is the system which allows a Maflex line to be fully managed by remote. It is your production assistant, your data recorder, your “work simplifier”. Let’s take a deeper look at PEGASO’s main features.

Production assistant

• The system allows you to see the current production shift: through its large touch screen, the system allows the line operator to view, at a glance, all production data in real time.
• It provides detailed information about production for the last 30 days, taking into account operator shifts, batch numbers, production orders, product recipes, etc.
• When given a list of production orders to be carried out, the system provides the sequence in which orders have to be worked out in order to minimize set up time and thus increasing machine productivity. Thanks to the Reel Management System, the type and quantity of parent reels can be determined automatically by the production orders entered into the System. This creates optimal production and logistics.
• The machine speed can be regulated automatically, so it can best utilize the accumulator and prevent the user from running the log saw machine faster than necessary, avoiding energy waste and reducing components wearing.
• Production can be reviewed at a later time, broken down by shift, operator, etc. to review efficiency and uptime.  The system can also keep track of each batch number for retrospective review, to investigate any quality concerns from the customer.

Video manager:

The integration of Pegaso with the Maflex “Smart Camera System” allows

• Fine-tuning the most important movements of the machines (transfer system, perforation, rewinding, etc.) by means of a sophisticated high speed video system which lets the user review the videos in slow motion or even frame-by-frame.
• Providing a video production log system, keeping a history of the last 2 weeks. It is possible to review every production batch with images that guarantee quality and production with each shift.
• View the line remotely. Thanks to the cameras installed on the line, the Production Manager always has the opportunity to remotely check the live recording of machines.

Monitoring

• It keeps track of the lifetime of mechanical and electronic devices and lets the user know when an item is close to the end of life, so that the availability of a replacement component can be ensured. Thanks to this monitoring, the predictive and scheduled maintenance will minimize the unpredicted/catastrophic stops
  in production.
• It monitors electrical devices and lets the user know if any anomaly, like an excessive current drain, is detected. This is done automatically, but the user can also observe electrical data in real time.
• It helps the user understand HMI thanks to operational guide. Each operation is explained in detail for the operator, with video and photo references, as well as useful instructions for use and maintenance.
• All the most important data, such as temperature, consumption or alarms are stored in a black box, always accessible if needed.

Resources

• When an alarm shows up on the HMI panel, Pegaso can provide guided diagnostics with additional information about the event and suggest the actions needed to solve it Pegaso lets the user to easily access the machine documentation: all manuals for maintenance operations (mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic diagrams) and all exploded views of the components that are specific to the converting site, are available to the user.
• Pegaso has also a cost estimator task. By entering details of the costs of electricity, raw material and labor, it is able to estimate the cost for each roll produced. This provides up-to-date references that the Production Manager can share with the sales department.
• It provides the user with a direct link to the online spare parts catalogue, where the user, upon login, can search for a replacement component and place an order.

Lastly, Pegaso can be accessed by multiple users from multiple devices at the same time, with each user having their own perspective of the system based on the user privilege level. For example, while the operator is working on the machine, the manager can insert the next production order to be carried out, or analyse the line production data to identify efficiencies/deficiencies throughout a production cycle. Pegaso is now available on all new Maflex converting lines, but it can also be installed on existing machines.

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