bwm

bwm's Trayfeeder is a line-side component handling system widely used in Industrial Machinery environments where cycle time directly constrains overall production throughput. Despite the product's established market position, bwm identified room for meaningful technical and commercial improvements. In high-volume assembly and feeding applications, even incremental inefficiencies compound across shifts — a 20-second cycle time creates bottlenecks that limit downstream line speed. Beyond raw throughput, excessive mechanical jerk during motion cycles accelerates wear on components and increases maintenance overhead. bwm needed to modernize the Trayfeeder's motion architecture to remain competitive while reducing total cost of ownership for end customers.

bwm partnered with Rockwell Automation to re-engineer the Trayfeeder's control and motion system. The updated platform centers on an Allen-Bradley CompactLogix Programmable Automation Controller with integrated two-axis motion functionality, eliminating the need for a separate motion controller and simplifying the control cabinet footprint. Motion is delivered via a single-cable solution comprising two Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5500 servo drives paired with two Allen-Bradley VPL series servo motors — reducing wiring complexity and cutting commissioning time. An Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus 600 HMI provides operator interface. The integrated architecture allows optimized motion profiles with tighter coordination between axes, enabling smoother acceleration and deceleration curves that directly reduce mechanical jerk throughout the feed cycle.

The redesigned Trayfeeder delivered a 26% reduction in cycle time, cutting the feed sequence from 20 seconds to 14 seconds. This improvement translates directly to higher line throughput without requiring changes to downstream processes.

Key outcomes:

• Cycle time: 20 seconds → 14 seconds (>25% improvement)
• Motion quality: Smoother trajectories with measurably reduced jerk, lowering mechanical stress
• Installation: Reduced wiring via single-cable motion solution shortened commissioning time
• TCO: Lower total cost of ownership through simplified architecture and reduced component count

The integrated controller-drive approach also improved system diagnostics, supporting faster troubleshooting on the line.

• Integrated motion control pays dividends: Combining controller and multi-axis motion in a single platform reduced complexity and enabled tighter coordination that generic architectures cannot match.
• Single-cable motion wiring is a practical TCO lever: Reducing cabling not only cuts installation time but simplifies long-term maintenance.
• Cycle time gains require motion profile tuning, not just hardware: The smoothness improvements came from optimized acceleration curves, not raw speed increases.
• Incremental product upgrades can deliver step-change results: Existing, proven products can achieve significant performance gains through targeted control modernization.