I am currently working in a rice processing facility for a university project. they have two identical rice filling machines that are semi manually operated and the output of both these machines converge onto a single line after one or two processes which have constant processing times.
The trouble is that they want to automate the line (apart from the filling machines) so they do not want the bags from the filling machines to be converging simultaneously, currently a worker is stationed at the converging place to sort them and create space between bags.
If the machines could be synchronised to fill bags such that when machine1 is filling the bag machine 2 is not and vice versa then bags would automatically appear alternately on the converging point, hence eliminating the need for the worker.
Here's how the machines work.
There's a hopper on the top. a turntable rotates such that 8 "cups" on it move and stop under the hopper one by one and get filled. and at the same time the cups are also stopping over the pipe that leads down where a worker places the bag to be filled, then as the cup moves on the worker passes the bag to another worker, takes another empty bag and places it under the pipe before the next cup empties in it. The speed of the machine is not customizable and they do not want to either. The stopping mechanism is such that a metallic "square" rotates with the turn table in front of what seems to be an optical sensor. When the side of the square is perpendicular to the sensor/laser, it stops for one second then rotates till the next side is perpendicular. I believe it is based on reflection and a timer.
How can we if its possible use these same sensors to alternate the pattern of the two identical machines. Note also that workers tend to switch of the machines for a few seconds if they get tired or they mis-pick an empty bag. The logic should be such that even if one machine is stopped the other continues to function normally, and when the machine rsumes function it will continue to be synchronous(alternately).
(PS. I am a have little to zero knowledge about electronic circuits, plcs, microcontrollers, so please try to use as much layman language as possible.)
The trouble is that they want to automate the line (apart from the filling machines) so they do not want the bags from the filling machines to be converging simultaneously, currently a worker is stationed at the converging place to sort them and create space between bags.
If the machines could be synchronised to fill bags such that when machine1 is filling the bag machine 2 is not and vice versa then bags would automatically appear alternately on the converging point, hence eliminating the need for the worker.
Here's how the machines work.
There's a hopper on the top. a turntable rotates such that 8 "cups" on it move and stop under the hopper one by one and get filled. and at the same time the cups are also stopping over the pipe that leads down where a worker places the bag to be filled, then as the cup moves on the worker passes the bag to another worker, takes another empty bag and places it under the pipe before the next cup empties in it. The speed of the machine is not customizable and they do not want to either. The stopping mechanism is such that a metallic "square" rotates with the turn table in front of what seems to be an optical sensor. When the side of the square is perpendicular to the sensor/laser, it stops for one second then rotates till the next side is perpendicular. I believe it is based on reflection and a timer.
How can we if its possible use these same sensors to alternate the pattern of the two identical machines. Note also that workers tend to switch of the machines for a few seconds if they get tired or they mis-pick an empty bag. The logic should be such that even if one machine is stopped the other continues to function normally, and when the machine rsumes function it will continue to be synchronous(alternately).
(PS. I am a have little to zero knowledge about electronic circuits, plcs, microcontrollers, so please try to use as much layman language as possible.)