Siemens, the leading supplier of automation equipment, has announced the award winning Multi-Carrier-System (MCS), its Industry 4.0-ready linear motor track system, jointly developed with Festo. Winner of two 2016 PPMA Industry Awards for Most Innovative Automation System and Partnership of the Year. The MCS delivers unparalleled levels of flexibility and can be easily incorporated into existing processing and packaging environments.
MCS addresses the acute need for flexibility in modern manufacturing and production environments driven by increasingly complex product diversity, shorter product life cycles and growing levels of mass customisation. Potential applications include cosmetics packaging with its huge number of product variants, food and beverage processing with quick seasonal changes or industrial manufacturing of customised, bespoke products.
Its configurable linear transport rail can be easily integrated into existing intralogistics and standard conveyor systems, with precise synchronisation and seamless infeed and outfeed of transport carriers. Movement of carriers within the system can be rapidly adapted to deal with different formats, sizes and types of product – down to batch sizes of one, or even to handle seasonal requirements.
Motion profiles can be defined for each carrier, enabling them to move freely and independently of all other carriers – at speed, jerk-free and precisely. They can be started and stopped at any desired position and moved towards each other without risk of collision, as well as grouped together and moved synchronously at fixed distances. Carriers can also effortlessly transfer between linear motor sections and the standard recirculating conveyor system, so users benefit from shorter set-up times, virtually seamless format changes and reduced maintenance costs thanks to lower wear.
Incorporating decentralised sensors and intelligence, MCS also addresses Industry 4.0 requirements and applications. Its exceptionally flexible electromechanical design enables adaptable, reconfigurable and economic production, even for mixed requirements and small batch sizes, while its OPC-UA interface enables integration into Industry 4.0 host environments.
“This award-winning collaboration between two industrial automation leaders has resulted in an innovative and versatile transport system for manufacturing and production which delivers flexibility and modularity for machine builders that have to manage large product diversity,” says Steve Sands, product manager at Festo. “We are delighted the judges of the prestigious PPMA (Processing & Packaging Machinery Trade Association) Group Industry Awards 2016 have recognised MCS, Festo and Siemens with two awards, Most Innovative Automation System and Partnership of the Year, citing the innovation, flexibility and impact MCS offers machine builders, deeming it ‘excellent engineering’ and ‘well integrated’.”
“We are delighted to work with Festo, who are without doubt a market leader in industrial automation,” says Keith Thornhill, Business Manager for Food & Beverage at Siemens. “This award-winning partnership will increase efficiency and create real value for customers across the UK. The Multi-Carrier-System is a concrete example of Industry 4.0 being realised – radically boosting flexibility in complex manufacturing and production environments.”
For more information on the advantages and capabilities of this powerful transport system, please visit: www.siemens.com/mcs or call UK 08458 507600 / IRE 1890 507600 or email Sales.GBI.industry@siemens.com
See more about the range of Siemens solutions for industry at www.siemens.co.uk
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About Siemens
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalisation. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No.1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the internet at www.siemens.com