Runs Are Recorded Automatically Now

Production feedback from the corrugator can be done largely automatically now thanks to a new optional feature of the PC-Topp Corrugator Terminal. The terminal can now be connected to a signal from the corrugator that indicates the end of a run, enabling the software to register production data automatically, at very little additional work and costs.

No More Manual Data Entry

In the past, runs had to be recorded manually by the corrugator staff. This meant that someone had to watch for the end of the run and press a key. That was relatively easy with corrugators that stop between runs, but as good as impossible if the machine continued to run at full speed during a format change.

Now there is a way to automatically detect format changes. All that is required is a counter (the exact type is NE 212) which can register two separate signals, one for the lineal meters produced and the other at every format change.

Easy Use of the New Automatic Recording Functionality

In automatic mode, the terminal records the starting and ending times as well as the lineal meters produced and marks the run that just ended as produced, in a preliminary way: The run is shown in a special color (brown) until the operator confirms it. The operator can choose to confirm little batches of runs now and then; the terminal can store the data of many runs that have been finished.

Secure Operation through Manual Confirmation

Operator confirmation seems important because there is a risk that the corrugator occasionally sends an incorrect format change signal (for example following a jam), which would lead to totally incorrect production figures.

A special situation occurs when the terminal is first started, for example in the morning: PC-Topp cannot be sure that the run known to the terminal as "current run" is still in production, or if one or several changes have occurred while the terminal wasn't "watching".

For that reason, the terminal always starts in manual mode, where it requires operator input after each and every run. Once the operator has made sure that the current run is shown right, he can switch to Automatic Mode by hitting a function key (F10).

Thus, the new feature for automatic production feedback from the corrugator offers a cheap, convenient, and highly precise method of production data recording.