In the late 1970's, Acrison introduced the industry's first multiple microprocessor weigh feeder controller. Since that time, the tens of thousands of controllers that Acrison has supplied worldwide, boost a record of innovation, service and reliability that has never been equaled. Today, Acrison continues to invest in new technologies that provide solutions to the needs of its many customers, as specifically related to the feeders and controls that Acrison manufactures. A commitment to superior performance, value, quality, ruggedness and reliability, with a sensitivity to the human side of controls, define our most important development criteria and set a standard which we consistently strive to meet.
Acrison recognizes that user needs vary greatly from industry to industry and even from plant to plant within the same industry. We believe that these many and varied requirements are best addressed by offering our customers control systems designed with the flexibility to be crafted to meet these different needs.
Environments also, vary widely. While some controls can operate in an office-like environment, others must operate in classified, or hazardous areas, or be protected from dust, water or heat. Acrison recognizes this and offers its controls with many enclosure options, most carrying both domestic and global safety certifications (UL, CSA, EC) to meet these needs. Such flexibility allows Acrison to supply controls for use in control rooms and office areas, for operation on factory floors, or for operation outdoors.
For example, in many industries, feeder motor controllers are located in a specific "motor control room" some distance apart from the logic controllers that control them. Acrison's standard controllers provide the design flexibility to allow users to place motor controllers up to thousands of feet from their logic controllers, if required, rather than requiring them to be in close proximity to them.
Packaged equipment can be provided plate-mounted, in single or multiple door free-standing enclosures or wall-mounted enclosures, in table-top enclosures, or even provided mounted directly on the associated feeder, with or without operator controls.
Acrison's MD-II 2000 Family of Controllers would not be complete without its powerful features and functions; a feature set truly unrivaled in the industry. Beginning with the ability of any of its controllers to operate any of its feeders, Acrison has designed a wealth of capability into the MD-II 2000 Family of Controllers.
Batch or continuous modes of operation are selectable with a keystroke, meaning that the same controller can be used in different applications, minimizing spare parts inventories. Volumetric or gravimetric control using internal or external set points is standard, as are provisions for master-slave or ratio-proportioning control and support for automatic refill of "weight-loss" feeders equipped with automatic refill devices.
Recipe storage, auto-tuning, SPC information, dual totalizers, support for a variety of digital, analog and serial interfacing modules, plus printing capability, are all standard features. And that's just the beginning! Standard, patented features, such as Acri-lok® and Batch-lok® provide protection against unexpected scale disturbances which could otherwise cause a feeder to be off-rate, or to terminate a batch prematurely.
The MD-II 2000 Family of Controllers also has extensive user-selectable features including 33 different alarms, user specified start/stop delays, alarm latching, automatic compensation for varying product bulk density, stop-on-empty, user-specified maximum motor speed limit, bumpless transfer, digitally activated set point reducer set points, and many, many more.
Optional equipment can also be selected to provide functionality not included in the standard controller. Among the most popular optional items, which are available for the MD-II 2000 Family of Controllers, are Acrison's Protocol Gateway for networking applications; the Data Link and Auxiliary Data Link Modules which can be equipped with many different protocols for use in serial communication; Analog Option Modules which include switch-selectable support for 6 different current and voltage protocols on each electrically isolated module; a remote second keyboard display unit (KDU) for use in both the single and multi-feeder versions of the MD-II 2000 CTS Controller; a digital contact activated Recipe Module which can activate any of 24 predefined recipes by an external contact closure; digital I/O expansion and others.
Technology continues to shape the way our factories work. Today, for example, it is common to find processes controlled to varying degrees by centralized computer systems. Feeder controllers often find themselves controlled by these main control systems and must be capable of communicating with them, often in several different ways. The MD-II 2000 Family of Controllers offer unequaled connectivity ability, including the ability to operate on multiple independent networks simultaneously while still permitting keyboard (KDU) operation at the same time.
In order to facilitate integration of its controllers into virtually any controls connection configuration a user may require, Acrison offers a wide selection of both industry standard and customized hardware and software protocols. Available options include those for use with popular protocols such as Modbus RTU, Modbus/TCP, Modbus ASCII, Allen Bradley Data Highway and Data Highway Plus, as well as many others (some certified by third party organizations).
Connection of Acrison controllers to PC-based software packages, such as those offered by Genesis, Wonderware, Paragon and Intellution, is very straightforward and uses standard hardware and software options. Provisions for operation on high speed networks such as Ethernet (10 Base T) or Profibus DP (12 MHz), with or without Internet access, or dial-up access configurations, can also be supplied. Other products for communicating with Acrison controllers include Acrison's personal KDU, a pocket-sized product based on a Palm Connected Organizer®, which communicates with a controller via infrared or cable and which is also a fully-featured KDU. In addition, Acrison offers the Multi-Purpose KDU (MPKDU-1), an economical, graphical display device, which can provide ratio-proportion capabilities and can provide access to set points and control functions for up to 16 controllers.
Acrison developed the SBC-2000 as a single board controller solution for applications that require central computer control and minimal hardware, but which do not need a local user interface or keyboard/display. The controller itself shares many of the capabilities of other Acrison controllers, and utilizes the same control algorithms as Acrison’s Model MD-II 2000, C-702 and MD-II MFC Controllers. However, in the SBC-2000, all functions have been integrated onto a single 100 x 160 mm control module. This is a streamlined and modular design that provides an economical and flexible solution for operating Acrison weigh feeders in either continuous or batch weigh feeding applications.
The SBC-2000 Controller is equipped with dedicated scale and motor controller serial channels plus two independent serial communication channels. The communication channels are provided for connection to the host controller or other device which will be used to enter set points and calibration data as well as to activate commands. When used with Acrison equipment such as the Multi-Purpose KDU, these channels can facilitate implementation of Ratio/Proportioning or Master/Slave configurations as well as independent operation of each of the SBC-2000 Controllers. Additional networking functionality can be added to these channels by the addition of Acrison’s SBC-2000 Profibus Module, Ethernet Module, Infrared Port, Modem Module or Acrison Gateway. The SBC-2000 host communication channels are compatible with most of Acrison’s many software protocols.
The LCS Packaging Option, available for Acrison’s MD-II 2000® and SBC-2000® Controllers, incorporates some of Acrison’s latest technology into a compact and economical package that mounts directly onto an Acrison "Weight-Loss" Weigh Feeder. The LCS is designed without a local Keyboard/Display to provide optimized functionality for those processes controlled by a central computer system. The LCS minimizes space and wiring requirements by mounting directly on its corresponding feeder. Wiring requirements and costs are reduced considerably because only AC power and a communications cable are required. Each LCS Package includes the Logic Controller (MD-II 2000 or SBC-2000), SCR/DC Motor Controller, Host Communication Channel and built-in Infrared Port. In addition, the controller system can optionally include the Resolver Computational Module and its power supply.
Acrison's Model C-702 Weigh Feeder Controller provides an economical alternative to Acrison's top-of-the-line MD-II 2000 Weigh Feeder Controller for continuous "Weight-Loss" feeding applications which do not require the extensive capabilities of the MD-II 2000. The Model C-702 Controller does not encompass batching capability.
While offering fewer expansion options than the MD-II 2000, the C-702 nevertheless, retains most of the MD-II 2000 Controller's operational features, many of its capabilities, and is based in large part on the field proven MD-II operating program. As in the MD-II 2000 and all Acrison weigh feeder controllers, the C-702 Controller performs fixed-interval scale sampling and motor speed (feed rate) updates, while receiving numerous readings per second from the feeder's scale. Such rapid control functions, combined with the one part in 1,048,576 resolution of the scale, provide the highest degree of short and long term feed rate accuracy while optimizing overall feeder performance.
Acrison's Model BC-702 Batch Controller provides an economical alternative to Acrison's MD-II 2000 Weigh Feeder Controller for "weight-loss" batching applications which do not require the extensive capabilities of the MD-II 2000.
While offering fewer expansion options than the MD-II 2000, the BC-702 nevertheless retains all of the MD-II 2000 Controller's operational batching features, many of its capabilities, and is based in large part on the field-proven MD-II operating program. As in the MD-II 2000 and all Acrison weigh feeder controllers, the BC-702 Controller receives numerous readings per second, with one part in 1,048,576 resolution. and operates the variable speed feeding mechanism of the batch weigh feeder at fast and dribble speeds in order to achieve extremely high accuracy with respect to the batch weight selection.
For additional information or answers to your questions, please contact us at our office nearest you.