Lenze - AC Tech has worked closely with a specialist ultrasonic engineering company to solve the problem of making the perfect sliced sausage quickly and with minimal waste.

A traditional cured continental sausage is difficult to cut very finely in an automated process because of the adhesive qualities of the meat, when a slice is made with a normal blade it tends to stick to the blade surface after the cut is complete.

The ultrasonic company, more used to sieving and sorting fine powders than chopping sausages has applied its high-frequency vibration technology to ensure the slices drop away from the blade neatly into the correct place each time. The challenge was to integrate this high-end technology into a slicing machine and still meet the low-cost demands of the food processing industry. The solution was simple, using a 4 amp PositionServo 940 with encoder feedback to control the position of the blade; the knife could be reciprocated in minimal time and with maximum speed and accuracy.

Driving through a precise Lenze MCS servo motor and gearbox combination and a cogged belt drive, the thickness of the slices can be controlled along the entire length of the sausage. The PositionServo is controlled via a Lenze drive PLC unit and an HMI, in this case a 4” Lenze LCD grey scale touchscreen display. By using an smd drive to power the conventional AC motor that actuates the blade, the machine can be operated with domestic 110 – 240 V supply and still supply a super cost effective combination. Using CANopen to link all the machine control components also allowed minimal wiring to be used and resulted in a highly compact machine that is easy to program and very easy to use.

Features: Integrated servo, inverter, gearbox and HMI solution; Complete component compatibility; High-speed accurate position control; Precise automation within a low budget; CANopen compatibility; Easy to use.

Lenze - AC Tech, 630 Douglas Street, Uxbridge, MA 01569; www.Lenze-ACTech.com