Always on the lookout for technology improvements, Pliant wanted to take a closer look at the Watlow system for their South Deerfield, Mass facility. Pliant operates blown mono and coex film lines at this plant, producing films for a variety of applications. Two of their three-layer lines, which had five heat/cool zones per extruder barrel and over 30 temperature control zones overall, were being controlled by an antiquated analog unit (described by plant personnel as a "black box with flashing lights") that gave no insight into the process. With no way to monitor the controller's performance on the multi-layer blown film line, and with downtime a fairly frequent occurrence, Pliant decided it was time to upgrade their controller technology.

Watlow PPC-2000 Chosen As the Best Fit
Pliant called in its local distributor, FM Keefe Company, Inc. of Springfield, Mass., to develop a solution. FM Keefe is a control systems integrator and authorized Watlow distributor. FM Keefe was instrumental in implementing a customized and complete system solution based on the PPC-2000.

Having serviced this Pliant facility for several years as an engineering resource and systems integrator, their extensive technical understanding of Pliant's processes and Watlow's products were vital to the customization and implementation of the PPC-2000 controller.

"George Holman of FM Keefe did a great job of showing Pliant how the Watlow PPC-2000 could improve their process," said Bob Simmons, Watlow's New England Area Sales Manager. "He took the time to meet with the company's machine operators and supervisors to find out what they wanted in a control system. After understanding their needs, it became obvious that the Watlow PPC-2000 was the perfect fit."

The PPC-2000 controller provides flexibility with easy to setup multi-loop process control and programmable logic control in one complete package. The PPC-2000 is a uniquely powerful and cost-effective approach for extrusion applications where other controls can be awkward, time-consuming to use and do not adequately control the process. It offers a very user-friendly alternative to strategies employing PLCs with discrete controls.

Color Graphics Provide Window Into the Process
Pliant is now able to speed time to market with their customized PPC-2000.The controller provides vast resources for trouble-shooting resulting in greater productivity levels and reduced process downtime.

The new control system uses a 19" color touch screen with Watlow's ANAWIN^® HMI software. Because Watlow's ANAWIN^® software has data logging, graphing capability, auto-tuning, recipe management and built-in alarm handling features, the PPC-2000 controller is versatile and user-friendly.

One of Pliant's favorite features of the PPC-2000 is its color-coded graphics which clearly show operating data associated with each extruder and each die. Operators can see real-time parameters on each, as can supervisors from a remote computer located in an office overlooking the shop floor. By using pictures and quick reference features, the PPC-2000 reduced Pliant's engineering efforts through its' easy to setup PID control parameters with "fill in the blank" and pull down menus.

With the PPC-2000, Pliant was able to size the controller to fit their application and precisely control up to 48 temperature zones and process loops with a single unit. Because the PPC-2000 is modularized, it can grow with Pliant's system to allow various analog and digital I/O modules plus control loops to be centralized into one compact unit and programmed as an integrated system. The PPC-2000, features several digital & analog I/O modules allowing users like Pliant to select from a wider variety of field I/O devices to match specific application needs. Touch screen displays and LCD interfaces were also implemented for easy viewing and editing of parameters.

The use of Watlow's ANAWIN software in the PPC-2000 eases channel parameter setup and monitoring. It is a simple, menu-driven, full featured and customizable package that allowed all the control loops to be viewed and edited from tables. Because no programming was necessary, productivity was immediate.

Pliant's old controller, with its lines of scrollable text, made it extremely difficult for operators to distinguish data between the three extruders. Because multiple operators had access to the controller on the shop floor, it was difficult to keep control over changes made to the processing parameters, or even to identify what changes had been made.

Benefits Realized Company-Wide
By implementing Watlow's PPC-2000 programmable process controller, Pliant was able to save time and money as well as to put a smile on the faces of Pliant employees from the shop floor to upper management.

"The PPC-2000 offered tangible benefits to all areas of our company," said BJ Goclowski, Optimization Manager of Pliant Corporation. "Machine operators were very pleased to be able to give direct input into how to customize the control system. Because the Watlow system was so easy to use and understand, they felt it made their jobs easier. Everyone in the company liked the intuitive screens with color pictograms of the die, extruder, barrel and all control zones."

"The data provided by the PPC-2000 is invaluable to the managers and supervisors responsible for troubleshooting and optimizing the process," continued Goclowski. "Remote screens enable us to monitor the line, collect and view historical data to identify trends and make adjustments. This was not available in our previous system. Remote access also provides a good place to conduct recipe management and configuration upgrades."

Management is happy as well. Since implementing the PPC-2000, there has been zero downtime as a result of the control system and a reduction in overall downtime. In the future, Pliant could also pinpoint material costs and optimize resin usage for each production run because the PPC-2000 can monitor raw material usage, percent regrind and/or additives to set the color mix using load cells. The PPC-2000's power management feature can also reduce power costs. Because of the auto-tune feature that compensates for varying thermal lags on different extrusion machines, Pliant's extruders are up and running quickly. Production runs are very repeatable due to the unlimited recipe/job setups available in the PPC-2000. Each job is a fixed menu of zone setups, set-points and alarms.

The overall savings to Pliant, the robustness, ease of use and expandability of the PPC-2000 all combined to make Pliant's production more efficient and cost effective. Machine operators, supervisors and management all benefit, making its introduction into the plant a welcome one. Because of this success, future plans call for retrofitting other blown film line controllers at this plant with the PPC-2000.

About Pliant Corporation
Pliant Corporation is a leading producer of value-added film and flexible packaging products for personal care, medical, food, industrial and agricultural markets. Pliant operates 26 manufacturing and research and development facilities around the world, and employs approximately 3,500 people For more information about Pliant Corporation, visit www.pliantcorp.com.

About FM Keefe Co., Inc.
FM Keefe Co., Inc. is an engineering based industrial controls specialist, with technical expertise in heating, sensing and control. FM Keefe's products and services include electric process heaters, temperature and power controllers, temperature sensors, photoelectric and proximity sensors, as well as custom built electrical control systems. For more information about FM Keefe, visit www.FMKeefe.com.

About Watlow
Since the company's founding in 1922, Watlow has brought its thermal expertise to numerous applications, including semiconductor, plastics processing, foodservice equipment, life sciences, aerospace and others. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Watlow is the largest custom designer and manufacturer of industrial heaters, sensors, controllers and software with offices and manufacturing facilities around the world.