Intelligent drives in systems with decentralized intelligence

An opportunity to substitute mechanical gear systems in packaging machines by a system of intelligent single drives in order to get more flexibility are presented in this paper. The single drives are coupled via a serial bus. Starting from a definition of basic functions of an intelligent drive, a practical realization is presented. This section includes a short description of the used control structure, a possibility of reference generation and also the thermal model used for monitoring the drive temperature. The features of the bus system used for the coupling of the drives are discussed in a following section. Tools for the description of such a drive system are necessary for its design, simulation and starting up and can be based on a function chart. Last but not least a pouch form, fill and seal machine equipped with a system of intelligent single drives is presented