Stunning space savings in a brownfield project
When integrating automated processes into existing production lines, machine builders often find themselves trying to reconcile steep functional requirements with a small installation space – a difficult task. This was the challenge that specialist machine builder Nordfels faced when developing a unique packaging application. It found the ideal solution in the MX-System from Beckhoff and the switch to a hybrid architecture enabled by it. The drive control system and 48 V supply are now decentralized at exactly those points where movement takes place, making it possible to reduce the volume of the control cabinet – and, therefore, the dimensions of the system.
Bad Leonfelden, in Austria’s northern region of Upper Austria, is renowned for its healing springs and spas – a tradition that dates back to the 17th century. However, the location is also becoming increasingly well-known for providing high-performance machine building solutions. Local company Nordfels has a role to play in this, positioning itself as a technology partner for sophisticated automation solutions and deploying advanced technologies.
Nordfels serves a wide range of industries, from aluminum and steel processing to the food and pharmaceutical industries, and all the way through to automotive and packaging applications. “Our customers come from many different sectors, but they have two things in common: they are predominantly based in the region and they rely on precise production processes with extremely high automation demands,” explains Bernhard Hartl, Head of Automation at Nordfels. This background has equipped the company with an excellent ability to transfer its expertise to different requirements. “We are very good at mapping automation technologies onto whichever industrial sector we are working with,” adds Matthias Mitterlehner, who is responsible for electrical design and control cabinet planning. “Technology from Beckhoff is a common thread through all the applications we handle. This allows us to focus on a single automation partner and means we’re familiar with their portfolio, which usually speeds up the process of finding solutions.”
With around 85 employees, Nordfels is constantly testing the limits of machine building. “We want to be at the forefront of automation,” states Bernhard Hartl. This is clear, for example, from the way in which the company combines new technologies or uses artificial intelligence: it provided its first AI system in a production machine back in 2020. Now, Nordfels sees itself as more than just a machine builder – it is a business that forges software solutions for sophisticated automation.
A brownfield challenge
An ongoing project for powder coating manufacturer TIGER Coatings impressively demonstrates how new technologies can overcome the physical limitations of brownfield projects. Specifically, the project involves an automated box sealer designed to replace a previously manual process. The system takes bags filled with powder coating material in boxes from a filling station and carries out all the steps downstream of this fully automatically – from closing the inner bag and sealing the box to weighing, labeling, and palletizing. “The project has also involved various quality assurance stages,” says Project Manager Hannes Stöllner. “For example, we have a device called Powder Thief that takes samples during the packaging process to verify the exact color of each powder coating batch.” TIGER has set its sights high, with demands including end-to-end networking and real-time data transmission, a high level of modularity, and adaptive processes including intelligent quality assurance and cobot palletizing. The new machine also has to be integrated into an existing line, where space is extremely scarce.
To resolve this conflict of objectives, Nordfels is relying on the MX-System from Beckhoff, the scalable modular system for cabinet-free automation. “For us, it creates an ideal basis for thinking in logical function groups and implementing them in hardware enclosures,” states Matthias Mitterlehner. “The automation technology is positioned exactly at the points in the machine where it takes action.” Nordfels has taken a hybrid approach to the system for TIGER. Although the machine still has a control cabinet, the dimensions of this have been more than halved compared to a conventional solution. The entire drive control system and the 48 V power supply have been moved from the control cabinet directly to the process. This was made possible from a technical perspective by two separate MX-System units: one in the lower structure and one in the upper structure of the box sealer. The lower part of the machine transports the boxes, while the dust-protected upper part houses the sophisticated mechatronics for closing the inner bags and boxes.
Drive technology enclosed in a decentralized package
The two MX-Systems work as decentralized drive units in this application. In addition to providing control technology, they include power supply modules, power supplies, braking resistors, and I/Os. The upper baseplate supplies twelve servo axes, which drive multi-axis gantries, for example. Ten additional axes for conveyor and handling systems are controlled in the lower part of the machine. Nordfels consistently uses One Cable Automation (OCA) to integrate its motors, making it possible to transmit power, EtherCAT communication, and feedback signals via a single cable and standardized hybrid connectors. The interface on the control cabinet is also very slim, as the two MX-Systems each represent a single point for accommodating the 400 V AC supply, 24 V DC, and EtherCAT. Almost all the box sealer axes are moved by AM8000 series motors, ensuring the system behaves consistently. “We have even replaced some pneumatic axes with servo axes because energy efficiency is extremely important to the end customer, TIGER,” explains Hannes Stöllner. The safety architecture is seamlessly integrated as well, with the safety functionality required for the axes being provided directly via the MX-System and FSoE.
A look at the remaining automation components in the control cabinet reveals a CX5330 Embedded PC being used for centralized machine control. Nordfels also integrated a C6030 ultra-compact Industrial PC as an edge server. Infrastructure packages, system visualization, and other software solutions – used for AI-based quality assurance, for example – run in a virtualized environment with a container architecture. Captured data is seamlessly integrated into the higher-level ERP system via REST API. Through TwinCAT and EtherCAT Terminals, Beckhoff supplies all the necessary interfaces for horizontal and vertical integration – from EtherCAT and PROFINET to IO-Link and OPC UA. A CP39xx Control Panel on a mounting arm is installed on the machine as an HMI.
Technology provides competitive advantage
For Nordfels, the decision to use the MX-System was strategic as well as technical. “The high standards we set for our own automation solutions mean that we’re always first in line when new technologies become available at Beckhoff,” says Bernhard Hartl. As the MX-System was still a new solution at the time of the project, Nordfels worked closely with the Beckhoff experts. Configuration was carried out using the MX-System Designer tool, which can also generate parts lists, CAD data, and EPLAN macros. “The tool gave us a quick way of implementing adjustments that we wanted to introduce later on,” confirms Thomas Oberreiter, MX-System Product Specialist at Beckhoff in Austria. In future, the tool will also have a web-based platform that will offer users an independent way of planning their decentralized solution and system configuration for TwinCAT. “This will drastically reduce the amount of work involved in planning and project configuration,” says Thomas Oberreiter. A key benefit for Nordfels’ software developers is that project planning in TwinCAT is always the same, regardless of whether the hardware is being implemented in a control cabinet or in the form of the MX-System. This consistency underlines the fact that traditional control cabinets and the MX-System coexisting is not something atypical – instead, it is a use case that combines specific advantages of both worlds without the need for any additional engineering effort.
A blueprint for the future
The box sealer at TIGER Coatings illustrates how decentralized automation can solve many problems in machine building. The investment costs were on the same level as a conventional solution – but the added value for the end user is immense: significant space savings, robust design without having to handle air conditioning systems, excellent energy efficiency, and simplified maintenance.
“We also want to use decentralized architectures for other applications in the future, where it would be technically and economically efficient to do so,” summarizes Matthias Mitterlehner. Nordfels is already evaluating the next step for the box sealer: bringing automation fully to the MX-System, including an edge server. “The idea of an entirely cabinet-free machine is very exciting to us, so it’s only natural that we’re thinking about this route,” says Bernhard Hartl, looking ahead. “Our aim is to continue our linear growth rate so that we can keep adopting new technologies as early as possible in the future – an approach that works well with our recipe for success. With its exceptional culture of innovation, Beckhoff is the perfect partner to help us achieve this.”
