Machine operator interface

The new Smart Operator Interface from Standard-Knapp is a graphically driven interface that can be customized to each Standard-Knapp machine. It uses colour touchscreen technology to offer a new level of intuitive machine control. Through computer-aided fault recovery, it reduces Mean Time to Recover (MTR) and increases efficiency for challenging 24/7 applications in the food and beverage industries, the company says.

With the look and feel of a car dashboard, the solution features colour-coded alerts, a machine history display, and detailed help screens. The main screen contains a speedometer that tracks the speed of the machine by the number of cases packed per minute. The centre of the speedometer contains a colour-changing button that switches from green to yellow to red to indicate the presence of machine faults and errors. A product selection screen displays a photograph of each product and allows the operator to choose the specific product to be packaged. With a push of the touch-screen image, the machine electronically aligns itself to the size and requirements of the specified product.

Standard-Knapp’s interface includes a guard door and e-stop map, a live scheduled lubrication table and complete sensor cycle check. To increase durability, the most-used controls are positioned off the screen as hard buttons located below the display. A machine history display lists all prior faults and stoppages, and allows the operator to pinpoint the cause of past delays to increase productivity and reduce downtime.