background image

AIR LOGIC POWER SYSTEMS (ALPS)

 

  

: THEORY of OPERATION

 

FLEX PITCH 

 QUICK-START MANUAL 

 10 

 TM 2012-005 REV00 © 10/16/2012 

Test Probes Carriage/Slide Introduction 

 

Probe Carriage (slide) 

 

The  probe(s)  detect leaks by monitoring air pressure inside the containers during tests. The probe(s)  can detect 
defective containers by sensing either sudden or gradual changes in pressure. 

The test settings (parameters)  can be fine-tuned  for specific types of containers that have different volumes, 
shapes, and wall material. Changes in pressure will determine which containers are accepted or rejected. Test data 
on rejects is recorded in total numbers as a percentage of the total tests. The data can be used to adjust the 
production process to reduce the number of rejects. When test settings (parameters) for a particular container are 
set, they can be stored as a recipe and recalled later.  

Important:

 Please do not attempt to service the probe carriage or attempt any modifications. 

Contact the 

24 –hour ALPS SERVICE HOTLINE for help with service questions. 

 

  

 

 

Summary of Contents for FlexPitch

Page 1: ...tems LLC 2440 W Corporate Preserve Drive Unit 600 Oak Creek WI 53154 USA Phone 414 574 4151 Fax 414 574 4152 24 Hour Service Hotline 800 325 8717 www alpsleak com and info alpsleak com FLEX PITCH LINEAR LEAK TESTER QUICK START MANUAL A quick reference guide for quick setup and startup ...

Page 2: ...AIR LOGIC POWER SYSTEMS ALPS NOTICES ...

Page 3: ...void the warranty and or service agreements Please consult Air Logic Power Systems Service Department prior to installing or modifying existing software on this machine System Modifications Mechanical or electrical modifications not approved by Air Logic Power Systems LLC to the Flex Pitch system may also void the warranty and or service agreements Please contact the Air Logic Power Systems Sales ...

Page 4: ... Section 3 Theory of Operations 9 Basic Theory of ALPS Leak Testing 9 Theory of Operation Photo Eyes 9 Positions and Functions 9 Test Probes Carriage Slide Introduction 10 Reject and Reject Verify PE s Introduction 11 Section 4 Getting Started 12 Main Electrical Power 12 Air Supply 12 Air Supply Description Table 12 Air Pressure 12 Access Guards 13 E Stops 13 Container Present and Reject Photo Eye...

Page 5: ...roduction 26 Loss of Air Alarm Servo Alarm 26 Servo Communications Alarm Total Reject Percent Alarm 26 Reject Verification Alarm 27 H1 to H4 Consecutive Reject Alarms 28 H1 to H4 Transducer Alarms 28 Reject Percent Alarm H1 to H4 28 Auto Self Test Alarm Chute Intrusion Alarm 29 Container Present Photoeye Stuff OFF Container Present Photoeye Stuck ON 29 Controller Error Heads Failed to Home 29 Head...

Page 6: ... Flex Pitch ideal to leak test difficult containers The Flex Pitch Multi Moving head leak tester provides tool less adjustments and no formatted parts to change making quick bottle changeovers The Flex Pitch uses servo motors and linear slide combination coupled with an encoder mounted to the top of the conveyor to track the conveyor movement and speed As molded bottles enter the machine the Multi...

Page 7: ...ial Number plaque affixed to the inside door surface of the control enclosure as shown below Along with it are the 24 Hour service hotline phone number and the UL Panel Rating plate Enclosure door ID plaque ALPS 24 Hour service phone number and UL Panel rating label TABLE 1 Identification and rating labels LABEL 1 ALPS 24 hour service hotline phone number 2 ALPS ID 3 ALPS Rating Label 4 UL Certifi...

Page 8: ...o the function of this machine Please observe all warnings DANGER ARC SHOCK AND FLASH HAZARD The potential for serious or fatal injury exists Label is located on the outer door surface of the control enclosure Do not open to explore or attempt to affect repairs in this area In case of breakdown initiate Lock Out Tag Out procedures to secure the machine Notify authorized personnel RISK OF HOT SURFA...

Page 9: ...ting Contact with moving container material poses a slight to moderate threat of injury DANGER DO NOT OPERATE WITHOUT GUARDS IN PLACE This warning is located on the lower front portion and rear plexiglass guard of the machine It cautions the operator not to attempt to operate this machine without a plexiglass guard panel in place The potential for severe injury exists while the machine is operatin...

Page 10: ...BECOME ENTANGLED IN THE MOVING CONVEYOR WOMEN ARE CAUTIONED TO PIN UP LONG HAIR THE POTENTIAL FOR SLIGHT TO MODERATE PERSONAL INJURY EXISTS DANGER NEVER ATTEMPT TO SERVICE THIS MACHINE WITHOUT FIRST DISCONNECTING ELECTRICAL AND PNEUMATIC POWER AND PERFORMING LOCK OUT TAG OUT PROCEDURES THE POTENTIAL OF SERIOUS PERSONAL OR FATAL BODILY INJURY EXISTS THE DETECTOR CONNECTED TO THE MOLDER ASSEMBLY MAY...

Page 11: ...MANUAL 6 TM 2012 005 REV00 10 16 2012 Safety Lockout Tagout Lockout Tag Main Power Lock main Power in the OFF position when the machine is down for maintenance Lockout Tag Out Air supply Lock airflow in the OFF position when the machine is down for maintenance ...

Page 12: ...s one located on the HMI panel and one located on the control enclosure The E Stop button has an LED to indicate the status of the safety system or sensor Steady Green indicates the machine is either ready to run or is running production Steady Red indicates that the circuit is open or interrupted the E stop has been pressed or a fault has occurred Red green indicates that the circuit has been ope...

Page 13: ...chine TABLE 2 HMI Status LED Color Code Indicates Running Status COLOR STATUS CONDITION Green Normal operating status Yellow Machine in bypass Mode in Pause Condition or a warning has occurred Red Machine stopped door ajar or waiting for operator to press START The circuit is open interrupted e stop has been pressed or a fault has occurred Clear No Color Waiting for run or start condition ...

Page 14: ...o Eye Monitors the line for incoming containers to determine that a container is present to initiate the test cycle The Container Present Photo eye works in conjunction with the Probe Take off to ensure correct timing for the test probes Adjusting the Probe Take off is discussed further in the Advanced Operator Manual 2 Downstream Jam Photo Eye Temporarily idles pauses the machine when the sensor ...

Page 15: ...r specific types of containers that have different volumes shapes and wall material Changes in pressure will determine which containers are accepted or rejected Test data on rejects is recorded in total numbers as a percentage of the total tests The data can be used to adjust the production process to reduce the number of rejects When test settings parameters for a particular container are set the...

Page 16: ...ll through the reject chute and into the reject bin The reject verify PE detects the container being ejected If the rejected container fails to break the reject verify photo eye beam then a reject verification fault occurs and the machine will stop If the container became lodged on the conveyor or the reject cylinder was defective the container can be retrieved and disposed of it in the proper man...

Page 17: ... sure Air on off switch is in the on position The Air Sensor and Regulator unit is on backside of machine Air Supply Description Table Air Pressure Verify The gauge should be set to 80 psi Turn the adjustment ring to vary the outgoing air pressure ITEM FEATURE DESCRIPTION 1 Primary Particulate Filter Cleans and regulates incoming compressed air supply 2 Coalescing Air Filter Cleans and regulates i...

Page 18: ... the e stop condition is reset on the HMI Container Present and Reject Photo Eyes Adjustment From recipe to recipe the container present photo eye and reject eye may require adjusting to accommodate different size containers To adjust the photo eyes loosen the hand clamp device and adjust vertically to the scale reading indicated by the recipe Left Container Present Photoeye Middle Reject Photoeye...

Page 19: ...Test Probe Carriage Ensure the probes are set to the proper height First unlock the slide by loosening the hand clamps on the left and right Adjust the slide height using the manual crank until the slide scale reading matches the recipe Retighten the slide lock hand clamps when finished adjusting the height ...

Page 20: ...UICK START MANUAL 15 TM 2012 005 REV00 7 24 2012 Reject Cylinder Position The Reject Cylinders position can be adjusted in and out To adjust the reject cylinder loosen the hand clamp device and adjust horizontally to the scale reading indicated by the recipe ...

Page 21: ...t manual will specifically cover loading recipes and running and monitoring production and assumes specific setup with regards to timing photo eyes and mechanical setup has already been accomplished For more information on mechanical setup and more detailed descriptions of devises and procedures please refer to the Advanced Operators Manual The Flex Pitch Quick Start manual will cover the followin...

Page 22: ...FUNCTION 1 HMI Touch screen Home screen with main menu access to Settings Results Maintenance Supervisor Help and Close button 2 Emergency Stop E Stop Pushing red knob inward stops the machine LED glows RED Pulling red knob out resets the e stop The operator must press the green START button shown at right to restart the machine LED changes back to GREEN 3 Start Stop buttons Starts and Stops machi...

Page 23: ...ers status 8 Recent Results Button A quick link to compilation of Recent Results for each station 9 Self Tests Button A quick link to Self Test results for each station 10 Recent Rejects Button A quick link to a compilation of Recent Reject and a description of each reject per station 11 Cycle Timers Button A quick link to results for Cycle and Servo times for each station 12 Bottle Pressure Butto...

Page 24: ...elf Test Reject Timing Counters Details Conveyor Speed Counters Alarms Recent Reject Bottle Size Close Button Return to Main Menu Alarm Log Close Button Return to Main Menu Test Times Test Pressures Reject Alarms Close Button Return to Main Menu Auto Self Test System Bypass Aux Test Settings Selectable Outputs ALPS Settings Test Limits Probe Take Off Recipes System Options Manual Test Digital Inpu...

Page 25: ...y cards for recipes are defined in the Advanced Operator manual Note Loading a current recipe requires at least an operator log in password Select the Settings Button then RECIPES to navigate to the recipes display Select LOAD EXISTING RECIPE If not previously logged in a Password box will appear Enter the proper password to continue loading recipes Load Existing Recipe Select recipe number at lef...

Page 26: ...ect cylinder position If the machine is equipped with manual regulators the SET REGULATORS button will prompt the operator to set the manual regulators to the test settings Logout Button If desired or if currently logged in the Log Out button will logout the current password level Once pressed a log in password will now be required to load recipes or make setting changes CLOSE Button This button c...

Page 27: ...Production Production Quick View For quick reference the Quick View menu allow for fast and easy access to important information regarding production results This information may be useful for tracking test results on certain containers or jobs It can also provide key information for making adjustment to test settings that may need tweaking from time to time The Quick View buttons are defined belo...

Page 28: ...ntainers per minute and CPH containers per hour Using Quick View counters during production can help determine how overall production is going as well as if there is a specific problem area that may require more attention Recent Results This screen shows recent test results for all four heads Using Quick View recent results can help determine where container pressure failures may be occurring Pass...

Page 29: ...ng production After selecting the self test the Flex Pitch should reject the self tested containers If this does not occur the test settings may not be accurate Recent Rejects This screen shows a listing of the last five recent rejects what type or cause of reject and at what station it occurred Recent rejects is a helpful monitor that can quickly point out possible container issues that may need ...

Page 30: ...le Timer display can provide key information on how much time is required or left over for adjusting test setting times This menu is discussed in greater detail in the Advanced Operator manual Bottle Pressure This screen shows the actual bottle pressure reached for each station The bottle pressure screen can help determine where the pressure percentages are for production runs as well as help poss...

Page 31: ...AL 26 TM 2012 005 REV00 7 24 2012 Alarms Alarms Introduction During production alarms may occur This section of the manual lists all the Alarms that may occur and how to deal with them Loss of Air Alarm Servo Alarm Servo Communications Alarm Total Reject Percent Alarm ...

Page 32: ...AIR LOGIC POWER SYSTEMS ALPS PRODUCTION FLEX PITCH QUICK START MANUAL 27 TM 2012 005 REV00 7 24 2012 Reject Verification Alarm ...

Page 33: ...AIR LOGIC POWER SYSTEMS ALPS PRODUCTION FLEX PITCH QUICK START MANUAL 28 TM 2012 005 REV00 7 24 2012 H1 to H4 Consecutive Reject Alarms H1 to H4 Transducer Alarms Reject Percent Alarm H1 to H4 ...

Page 34: ...PS PRODUCTION FLEX PITCH QUICK START MANUAL 29 TM 2012 005 REV00 7 24 2012 Auto Self Test Alarm Chute Intrusion Alarm Container Present Photoeye Stuff OFF Container Present Photoeye Stuck ON Controller Error Heads Failed to Home ...

Page 35: ...AIR LOGIC POWER SYSTEMS ALPS PRODUCTION FLEX PITCH QUICK START MANUAL 30 TM 2012 005 REV00 7 24 2012 Heads Too Close Reject Photoeye Stuck OFF Reject Photoeye Stuck ON ...

Reviews: