As prescribed by the EU from 07/2024 onwards, new closures for single-use plastic packaging, so-called tethered caps, pose a particular challenge for production system manufacturers. Targeted quantities of more than 100,000 per hour can only be achieved with the shortest cycle times during assembly. Global competition also demands reduced engineering/throughput times, i.e. shorter delivery times. Added to this is the fallout from the limited availability of components during the pandemic. 

Tethered caps no longer feasible without servos: During the pandemic, Siemens ensured the servo drive system delivery performance and created an adapted drive design at short notice, with an application engineer later supporting the machine manufacturer on site with fine-tuning of the dynamics. End-to-end engineering for all components in the TIA Portal was established for the first time. Core components of the solution are a new "single-cable servo system" comprising the compact SINAMICS S210 converter and the SIMOTICS S-1FK2 servo motor, which is geared towards dynamics and precision. The process was distributed over two interacting SIMATIC S7-1500TF and T technology CPUs – one for standard and safety tasks on the basic machine, and one for PROFINET IRT (isochronous real-time) communication with the servos on the tool heads of the rotary towers. All functionalities were rapidly implemented.

• Achieve the shortest cycle times and high quantities when assembling new tethered caps 
• Reduce engineering/throughput times 
• Overcome limited ability to deliver during the pandemic