Sustainability, the global target: the Pulsar holistic approach for a better future

Sustainability is, or should be, a global target for everybody and not only for the industries but is a clear target for the paper industry.

We, in Pulsar, decided to contribute to a better future, improving our actions and especially supporting our customers to keep and reach their targets. We support tissue producers to handle better the dynamic of consumer trends, which reduces the lifecycle of a product with flexibility.

The vision we propose wants to be holistic, taking into account all the aspects related to the management of production and non-production operations, which impact the practical sustainability of the whole. We are convinced that the issue of sustainability must be addressed in its entirety, with a view to the process formed by subsequent phases and operations in sequence, where each element, each choice, each solution, can provide its contribution or, if not correct, decrease the effectiveness of the entire system.

Our Mission proposes solutions to our customers to handle better the products flow in their production and packaging lines flexibly, safely, and sustainably. With our systems, we contribute to the process sustainability of our customers, proposing several different products and services conceived with a focus on the efficacy of the operation, efficiency of the process, safety of the operator, providing support to real sustainability of the operations.

SMART LINES CONTROL SYSTEM

With our control systems for the management of the lines, we treat the products gently, reducing the scraps and energy consumption: the line’s running speed can be adjusted according to specific needs.

Why run the line and products at high speeds if this is unnecessary?

With adequate control of the speeds and conditions of transport of the products, it is possible to:

• reduce energy consumption,
• reduce consumption and wearing of materials
• reduce the need for maintenance and spare parts, increasing the efficiency of the system
• reduce collisions between products
• reduce friction on products, when accumulated, while preserving their integrity

REDS HARMONIZER PLATFORM

With our harmonizer system, we balance the flow according to the events along the line, avoiding unwanted continuous start and stop. Furthermore, with our smart control systems, we reduce the energy waste, adapting the speed of the conveyors according to the actual need at the time.

Correct coordination of the production process phases, characterized by continuous flow phases and intermittent operation phases, is essential to obtain adequate efficiency.

With the use of our harmonization software, we therefore obtain:

• substantial increases in efficiency, with a more significant number of products made with the same operating time of the lines
• more regular production quality, thanks to the reduction of stops and restarts, which often generate transients with unacceptable quality
• reduction of production waste

ENGINEERING & LAYOUT

With our experience in the tissue converting industries, we can support our customers in the engineering and configuration of new production lines or sites, helping them define the most efficient layout configuration according to their targets.

With our engineering skills, we propose a layout developed not only on floor space but also on more vertical levels, reducing the precious space occupation of the floor (and of the soil) and creating accessible and safe passages for the operators to cross the workshops.

The occupation of spaces and surfaces is always a critical factor in the design of production plants.

An optimal layout allows to obtain:

• better flow of goods and people, with the creation of more people-friendly, safe and efficient work environments
• reduced foodprints and real estate investments.
• consequent reduction of the construction costs of the plants and of the management and operating costs
• higher overall level of automation, thanks to the possibility of managing constant, uninterrupted, and well-conceived flows of products along the lines

AUTOMATIC SETTING

With our clever solutions, we make adjusting the lines at products changeover easy, reducing waste of time, waste of products, and safety risks for the operators.

One of the critical factors of all production processes, particularly tissue, characterized by a significant variability of products and formats, is the management of product format and production changes. These factors always generate inefficiencies, delays, and critical transition phases, challenging to manage.

The adoption of automatic systems for the format changeover phases, such as:

• automatic or facilitated adjustment of the side guides and passage of the products in the transport lines
• automatic adjustment of the operating parameters of the lines based on different needs through the management of pre-stored recipes
• help manage the critical phases of format change without interpretation by the various operators in the best way and constantly and repetitively

This is strongly improving the effectiveness of operations, reducing the necessary transition times, reducing the need for operators to move along the line for the various essential settings, with the improvement of the efficiency of the systems and the working conditions of the people.

PRODUCTS CONFORMITY CHECKING SYSTEMS

With our Quatis and Vision quality inspection systems, we supply our customers with an unprecedented amount of accurate data about the quality of their products and their line functionality, helping them satisfy the high expectations of their customers and improve the efficiency of their production lines.

The continuous, constant, and complete control of the quality, conformity, and characteristics of the products passing through the production lines is an extraordinary tool for controlling the effectiveness and efficiency of the production lines themselves.

Checking the essential characteristics of the products along the various stages of the process means checking the process’s effectiveness immediately upstream, step-by-step, highlighting critical elements, and allowing for gradual optimization.

The analysis of the products allows highlighting any cause/effect relationships between adjustments and parameters of the process machines, with the characteristics of the products obtained, thus highlighting and anticipating any phenomena of performance drift, which can be anticipated and corrected by automatic adjustment loops.

The modern data collection and analysis technologies allow to carry out the production process analysis simply and rapidly as never before, even in real-time, allowing it to be maintained at high and continuous levels of effectiveness and efficiency, without the need for intervention by operators.

The opportunity to set completely automatic feedback signals and control loops is also possible.

Results:

• increase in the effectiveness and efficiency of the plants
• reduction of machine stops for extemporaneous adjustments
• effective control of the lines, without the need for surveillance and intervention by operators, who can therefore devote themselves to more valuable tasks and activities
• consequent reduction of energy consumption per production unit
• reduction of production waste
• reduction of complaints by distributors and consumers and possible returns of goods

LINES DIGITAL TWIN

With our Plant Layout Simulator, we build the “digital twin” of a customized production line, offering the possibility to test the impact of different configurations, different processing machines, different products, and different events usually happening in the production line. In this way, we can predict an operating line’s real behaviors and performances, helping the correct engineering and manufacturing of the same, obtaining higher OEE.

The preliminary analysis of the processes and flows allows correcting anomalies or criticalities already in the design phase, with consequent optimization of both the operating characteristics and composition of the lines and their layout, thus optimizing both the production flow, that the flow of people and goods, improving the use of space.

Adopting digital twins of the line also allows anticipating the testing and calibration phases of the devices along with the process flow, predetermining the operating conditions and parameters according to the various scenarios that arise and according to the different product formats to be managed. In this way, the testing and calibration phases of the lines during commissioning are strongly reduced, with a consequent reduction in costs and time required.

SAFETY

With the design of our lines and components, we create a safe working environment, improving the safety of the operators and their health. Safety of the operators and human health and wellness is a crucial part of any sustainability program, and safety of the production lines has always been a crucial focus point for Pulsar development.

Pulsar has developed and proposes intrinsically safe systems for operators, as they are based on components conceived and designed specifically for these aspects, with the same operating efficiency.

The line of safety chains of the SB03 series is based on Pulsar’s patented design, which prevents the creation of pinching areas in the various paths, preventing operators from being injured or entangled in them during normal line management operations.

The configuration of the lines and machines proposed by Pulsar is designed for safe operation and, at the same time, ergonomically designed for easy operation and management. The most modern technologies, from HW and SW safety circuits to collaborative robots, always guarantees maximum safety conditions.

An accurate risks assessment qualifies each line and analysis, and calculation of the PL level reached, confirming that, for Pulsar, safety is achieved by the design of the systems and not by the simple introduction of barriers and sensors at the end of the construction of the systems itself.

DIGITAL SERVICES

With our IoT platform, we created a virtual environment to be close to our customers and their needs, even being physically far away, reducing the need to travel and the time for reactions.

The application of modern electronic communication technologies and remote data collection allows Pulsar to provide support services to its clients, delivered through digital technologies, ranging from:

• Direct connectivity to lines and plants for remote assistance and monitoring, management of the operating data of machines and systems, supply of analytical reports on their systems, supply of IOT technologies, Data Analytics, Data Mining
• Direct access by Customer Technicians to information, tutorials, indications, and tips & tricks, which can be used to improve the performance of machines and lines
• Direct access to detailed technical information relating to the systems purchased and installed, from the technical operating documentation to the HW and SW listings, to the test cards, to the spare parts lists
• Direct access to the spare parts database to check availability of supply times, prices of the various components, and book their purchase.
• Remote service provision, such as FAT and remote commissioning
• Remote training provision for its staff, with the possibility of direct interaction on the machines
• Implementation of assistance and problem-solving actions remotely, with great precision and effectiveness and more

Each customer can have personalized access to the services offered, organized in a modular and scalable manner over time, based on actual needs.

RECYCLING AND WASTE MATERIAL RECOVERY

Pulsar has recently introduced on the market a proposal aimed at closing the cycle of production and use of the plastic material used for the construction of the chains of the conveyor systems of the products which, when replacing them, must typically be disposed of, with high direct costs and waste of material.

Pulsar has identified and developed a method that allows the recovery of the material used to produce other material suitable for the manufacture of chains that can be used in the new lines.

The development of a process that involves the recovery, washing, disassembly, sorting, and grinding of the material and mixing with virgin material in calibrated proportions has made it possible to obtain resins with properties suitable for use in transport systems, maintaining the basic characteristics of the original products.

With this initiative, therefore, Pulsar proposes an action of a free collection of the materials replaced after maintenance activities, avoiding that the customer incurs disposal costs and processes them for the recovery of the plastic material, creating a real virtuous circuit with which to reduce drastically the ecological impact of the use of plastic material used in its creations.

With this process, for every kg of plastic thus recycled, an equivalent quota of at least 5 kg of equivalent carbon dioxide emissions is avoided, thus obtaining a significant impact on reducing emissions into the atmosphere and energy savings.