Extrusion International 6-2025 India & Asia

34 Extrusion International 6/2025 34 INDUSTRY NEWS India & Asia Smart Solutions for High Productivity – Digital Offerings for the Operation and Servicing of Blown Film Lines H osokawa Alpine will be presenting practical solu- tions for system automation and digitalisation at PLASTINDIA 2026 that enable customers to operate their blown lm lines more ef ciently, safely and eco - nomically. A digital start-up assistant supports fast and error-free start-up, modern monitoring solutions en- sure full transparency during operation and predictive maintenance tools help to avoid unplanned downtimes. This gives customers more planning security, reduces downtimes and increases the overall performance of their production. Assistance systems make system operation easier The heart of system automation at Hosokawa Alpine is the ExVis process visualisation software. Among other things, it includes a start-up assistant that makes it easi- er to start up the system. The settings for a lm formula - tion are stored in the software. This information allows operators to start up the system in four automated steps without having process engineering know-how them- selves. The Augsburg-based company offers an operat- ing 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 auto- matically adjustable cooling ring insert. Here, the op- timum setting for the cooling air supply can be saved and automatically re-started. The one-touch change included in ExVis includes pre- set format changes and reproducible settings for the collapsing system and side gussets. The software pack- age thus enables accelerated start-up of a lm format and fast switching between different formats. This mi- nimises changeover times and the associated 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 predicted - for maximum system availability and an ex- tended service life. "Problems are recognised before they become critical or even arise. This allows custom- ers to plan interventions proactively and maximise the uptime of their systems," explains Christian Hoffmann, Director Blueserv Blown Film Extrusion. He adds with a wink: "With isa.guard, we have developed a kind of crystal ball that allows us to look into the future." 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