Integrated solution boosts quality and keeps contamination in check

Rychiger MC 1400 machine platform boosts quality and keeps contamination in check Working together with Rockwell Automation, Rychiger reinvented a demanding assembly process for a customer in diagnostics and syndromic infectious testing. The duo achieved this by replacing manual processes with a fully automated and fully integrated control and automation solution.

Accurate and timely test the sample is not tainted, spoiled or results can be the difference wasted. Crucial to sample delivery is between life and death ensuring that everything a patient’s when dealing with infectious sample comes into contact with is free diseases. One of the most important of contamination. advances in modern medicine is swift Previously, a market leader in diagnosis, often via diagnostics. diagnostics and SIDT (company A)

Thanks to modern reagents and relied heavily on manual processes automated analysis technology, to manufacture its single-use testing significant advances have been made cartridges. These closed-system in diagnostics and syndromic infectious disposable modules contain all the disease testing (SIDT) over the last chemistry required to isolate, amplify few decades, allowing rapid disease and detect nucleic acid from a patient’s identification and the earlier sample for IVD testing. commencement of life-saving With any manual treatments based on fabrication process laboratory results. – especially one that relies heavily QUALITY-DRIVEN on workers DESIGN – there is a Like any scientific possibility for procedure, the contaminants process chain to be is only as strong introduced. as its weakest link, Manual which is why the Ultrasonic welding application on processes can also pharmaceutical and life the Rychiger MC 1400 influence fabrication sciences industries are so quality, repeatability heavily legislated and quality driven. and yield. With infectious diseases, quick and It was this drive to boost quality, accurate results matter. The optimal throughput and reduce losses that delivery of a patient’s samples is the prompted the company to approach most important step to confirm that Rychiger for an automated solution. This Switzerland-based company is a specialist in the design, development and fabrication of customer-specific solutions for packaging machines in the healthcare and food and beverage industries.

“We help healthcare providers improve patient care and satisfaction by providing faster and better results,” explains a representative from company A. “Our test cartridge solution is the standard for syndromic infectious disease diagnostics. Patients and doctors depend on us to deliver accurate results fast and we value partnerships that allow us to constantly improve our processes and the care we provide to people who need answers.”

REDUCE VARIABILITY AND BOOST QUALITY

“Our customer’s goal was to fully automate the cartridge fabrication process while reducing contamination to an absolute minimum,” explains Bruno Lauener, key account manager, healthcare sales at Rychiger. “The solution would need to fully automate the handling of the cartridges to create consistency in the process, reduce potential contamination and increase production capacity.”

Company A already had experience of automation solutions from Rockwell Automation, as did Rychiger. Company A also had experience of the MagneMotion independent cart technology (ICT), since it had previously developed a system, inhouse, using this technology. As a result, the two companies agreed that the new machine should be designed around the MagneMotion ICT due to the flexibility, accuracy and repeatability it offers for a demanding multi-stage assembly process such as this.

Rychiger’s customer needed a solution to make it easier to move light loads, like its cartridge components, while maintaining full track-and-trace capabilities and faster cycle times. More precise control and intelligent motion could optimise assembly efficiency and speed while helping to eliminate disruption. With fewer moving parts than conventional systems, MagneMotion would result in less maintenance and downtime, simplify the handling of the cartridges to increase overall productivity and make processes more repeatable at levels of higher quality.

ACCURACY, FLEXIBILITY, REPEATABILITY

The MagneMotion system – using precision rails – delivers outstanding accuracy and flexibility in automation environments that require increased speed and decreased downtime. Its multiple independent movers effectively create a ‘pitchless’ conveyor system, the overall speed of which is not governed by the slowest process.

“This solution smooths the entire traffic flow by doubling – or in this case, tripling – on the slowest process, which means the system is no longer held back by the slowest stage of the cartridge assembly process,” explains Lauener. “With MagneMotion, all these factors can significantly increase speed, getting life-saving products to laboratories, both quickly and accurately.”

SCALABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY

Christian Sigrist, senior automation engineer at Rychiger, adds: “Top of mind when we design and build machines is the ability to both scale and adapt/ upgrade the technology. Our wide deployment of an integrated servo-based system – including the MagneMotion ICT solution – makes this significantly easier. It helps for maintenance too, as we can take a station offline and keep the internal surfaces have been designed to machine running with little impact be easy to wipe, with minimal trap points on production.” and voids.

In addition to the MagneMotion Lauener explains: “From the very system, the MC 1400 machine Rychiger beginning of the project, our work with developed has multiple servo axes, this customer quickly evolved into a all driven by Allen-Bradley Kinetix real conjoint development of the two servo drives, two Allenengineering teams. We visited Bradley VersaView 5200 them to see the existing thin clients, and manual production FactoryTalk View SE line as well as a SCADA software. MagneMotionAll stationequipped machine specific HMIs and then started are managed the new machine’s by the Rockwell development Automation with lab trials ThinManager before improving, software, enhancing and which centralises The human machine enlarging the concept information and data, interface until the final design as well as offers remote/ iteration was brought together. mobile access. The development work was certainly

Sigrist adds, “ThinManager helps aided by the deployment of the the customer maintain the machine, MagneMotion solution, as it can delivering an overview and access to all switch into simulator mode, enabling us parameters from a centralised location. to estimate cycle times before we It is especially useful where multiple HMIs actually built the physical model, in are involved. Using a centralised HMI order to test the various functions and server also aided us in the design and machine speed.” development of the interactivity and control systems.” MODERN SOLUTION FOR

Overall control of the machine, TODAY’S NEEDS including the integration of third-party This integrated automation and control Staubli robots, is handled by an Allensolution helps to reduce manual Bradley ControlLogix L8 programmable interactions. Incredibly flexible, agile automation controller (PAC), with and accurate, the solution also delivers an Allen-Bradley GuardLogix L7S significantly higher throughput while PAC delivering the necessary safety boosting quality levels. The machine functionality. can also be heavily modified with far less

All primary communication is via engineering effort than other solutions on ethernet/IP, using Stratix 5400 and the market. Indeed, engineers can now 5700 switches. be a lot more imaginative in their designs,

“The main reason for our deployment knowing that automation solutions exist of the Stratix-managed ethernet switches that can bring their ideas to life. was so the machine could be tightly “Our goal now is to take the lessons integrated into our customer’s network for learned in this project and apply security, safety and compliance reasons. the answers and technologies to the It also fitted the customer’s requirements processes, machines and solutions we for converged plantwide ethernet,” develop for this and the other markets we Sigrist comments. serve,” Lauener concludes. CLEAN LINES AVOID “We appreciate the support of Rockwell CONTAMINATION Automation and Rychiger, providing the To counter the contamination challenge, quick, comprehensive and accurate the machine is enclosed – which keeps results our customers have come to operators away from the cartridges. The expect from our testing solution.” • enclosure is also ‘shadowless’, thanks to an advanced lighting solution, which delivers well-lit visibility to all aspects of Rockwell Automation – www.rockwellautomation.com Rychiger – www.rychiger.ch/en the internal elements for cleaning, and all The representative at company A adds: