Extrusion International 3-2026

32 Extrusion International 3/2026 BLOWN FILM Smart Solutions for High Productivity T he German mechanical engineering company Hosokawa Alpine presents practical solutions for sys- tem automation and digitalisation that enable custom- ers to operate their blown lm lines more ef ciently, safely and economically. A digital start-up assistant sup- ports fast and error-free start-up, modern monitoring solutions ensure full transparency during operation and predictive maintenance tools help to avoid unplanned downtimes. This gives customers more planning secu- rity, reduces downtimes and increases the overall per- formance of their production. Assistance systems make system operation easier The heart of system automation at Hosokawa Alpine is the ExVis process visualisation software. Among oth- er things, it includes a start-up assistant that makes it easier to start up the system. The settings for a lm for - mulation are stored in the software. This information al- lows operators to start up the system in four automated steps without having process engineering know-how themselves. The company offers an operating device for the lm take-off, which can be connected to the take- off or the collapsing system and operated on site. This gives the operator immediate access to the connected component. Automation solutions increase ef ciency and productivity Hosokawa Alpine also supports blown lm manufac - turers with various automation solutions to optimise the use of their systems, speed up processes and mea- surably increase productivity. This includes an automati- cally adjustable cooling ring insert. Here, the optimum setting for the cooling air supply can be saved and au- tomatically re-started. The one-touch change included in ExVis includes preset format changes and reproduc- ible settings for the collapsing system and side gussets. The software package thus enables accelerated start-up of a lm format and fast switching between different formats. This minimises changeover times and the asso- ciated material losses and offers lm manufacturers a high degree of exibility. Monitoring systems for smooth production In order to keep the productivity of the systems as high as possible, Hosokawa Alpine provides a system monitoring system that immediately visualises mal- functions in operation and production and enables them to be recti ed quickly. A camera system with various cameras on the take-off, winder and MDO pro- duces images that can then be called up via the opera- tor terminal. This enables an overview from the control panel, even in areas of the system that are not visible. In an emergency, the remote service from Hosokawa Alpine Blueserv, the company's service brand, can quickly access the system. Predictive maintenance with isa.guard: machine diagnostics in real time With the predictive maintenance tool isa.guard from Blueserv, maintenance requirements can be precisely With the modern software solutions from Hosokawa Alpine, lm manufacturers can keep an eye on the operating status and productivity of their system at all times The predictive maintenance tool isa.guard helps to recognise anomalies at an early stage and intervene if necessary