COMPUTER-BASED INTEGRATION OF ALL OPERATING PROCEDURES IN PRODUCTION MACHINES
First Claim
1. An apparatus for processing a plastic material, in particular an extrusion or injection molding machine, comprising:
- at least one material supply device for supplying the plastic material to be processed as a raw material;
at least one plasticizing unit for at least one of plasticizing or homogenizing the supplied plastic material through application of at least one of mechanical and thermal energy;
at least one molding device for subjecting the plasticized or homogenized material to a forming process for forming a product, wherein the product is removed, in particular demolded, from the molding device after a predetermined cooling or hardening time or supplied to an additional machining step, or both;
at least one microprocessor-controlled control device which controls at least one of the material supply device, the plasticizing unit and the molding device;
first recording means disposed on the material supply device and connected with the control device via a connection for transmission of data, said first recording means recording and transmitting to the control device at least one of a raw material supply and a change in the raw material supply, and second recording means disposed on the molding device or on the plasticizing unit and connected with the control device via a connection for transmission of data, said second recording means recording and transmitting to the control device at least one of process and material parameters of the plasticized or homogenized material, wherein the control device includes evaluation means receiving data from at least one of the first and second recording means and determining from the received data essentially in real time at least one of an expected raw material requirement, an expected production time, and an expected production cost for a predetermined quantity of the product.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for processing plastics, particularly an extrusion machine or injection molding machine, includes a material supply device, a plasticizing device and a molding device which are controlled by a control device to allow plastic products to be produced in a fully automated manner while taking into account essential operational processes. The apparatus includes first recording means which record the raw material supply and/or changes in the raw material supply, second recording means which records process parameters and/or material parameters, and a control device with evaluation means which determine from the data of the first and second recording means the expected raw material consumption, the expected production time, and/or the expected production cost for a given quantity of the product. Several apparatuses of this type can be combined in a single machine unit and controlled by the control device of one apparatus operating as a master.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus for processing a plastic material, in particular an extrusion or injection molding machine, comprising:
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at least one material supply device for supplying the plastic material to be processed as a raw material;
at least one plasticizing unit for at least one of plasticizing or homogenizing the supplied plastic material through application of at least one of mechanical and thermal energy;
at least one molding device for subjecting the plasticized or homogenized material to a forming process for forming a product, wherein the product is removed, in particular demolded, from the molding device after a predetermined cooling or hardening time or supplied to an additional machining step, or both;
at least one microprocessor-controlled control device which controls at least one of the material supply device, the plasticizing unit and the molding device;
first recording means disposed on the material supply device and connected with the control device via a connection for transmission of data, said first recording means recording and transmitting to the control device at least one of a raw material supply and a change in the raw material supply, and second recording means disposed on the molding device or on the plasticizing unit and connected with the control device via a connection for transmission of data, said second recording means recording and transmitting to the control device at least one of process and material parameters of the plasticized or homogenized material, wherein the control device includes evaluation means receiving data from at least one of the first and second recording means and determining from the received data essentially in real time at least one of an expected raw material requirement, an expected production time, and an expected production cost for a predetermined quantity of the product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A machine unit with at least two apparatuses for processing plastic materials, in particular extrusion or injection molding machines, each apparatus comprising:
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at least one material supply device for supplying the plastic material to be processed as a raw material;
at least one plasticizing unit for at least one of plasticizing or homogenizing the supplied plastic material through application of at least one of mechanical and thermal energy;
at least one molding device for subjecting the plasticized or homogenized material to a forming process for forming a product, wherein the product is removed, in particular demolded, from the molding device after a predetermined cooling or hardening time or supplied to an additional machining step, or both;
at least one microprocessor-controlled control device which controls at least one of the material supply device, the plasticizing unit and the molding device;
first recording means disposed on the material supply device and connected with the control device for transmission of data, said first recording means recording and transmitting to the control device at least one of a raw material supply and a change in the raw material supply, and second recording means disposed on the molding device or on the plasticizing unit and connected with the control device for transmission of data, said second recording means recording and transmitting to the control device at least one of process and material parameters of the plasticized or homogenized material, wherein the control device includes evaluation means receiving data from at least one of the first and second recording means and determining from the received data essentially in real time at least one of an expected raw material requirement, an expected production time, and an expected production cost for a predetermined quantity of the product, wherein the control devices of the at least two apparatuses are connected with each other via a data network, in particular via an intranet or via the Internet, with the control device of a first of the at least two apparatuses operating as a central control device (master) for the connected control devices (slaves) of the other apparatuses, wherein the information recorded by at least the first and second recording means of all of the at least two apparatuses and the information recorded or determined by the control devices of the connected control devices (slaves) are transmitted to the central control device (master), and wherein the master combines the recorded or determined information, and determines therefrom essentially in real time the expected raw material requirement, the expected production time or the expected production cost for the predetermined quantity of the product for the machine unit. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification