NULL
SUPPORT
SETTING THE STANDARD FOR OPERATIONAL
EFFICIENCY IN THE METAL FORMING INDUSTRY.
ADD NEW LIFE, PERFORMANCE, AND ACCURACY TO
YOUR ROLL FORMING LINE OR FOLDING MACHINE.
SOLUTIONS FOR ANY METAL FORMING INDUSTRY.
LEVERAGE OUR EXPERTISE TO IMPROVE
PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFORMANCE.
NEW UPGRADE AVAILABLE:
CLOSE

Get up to 105% Production Increase with our new HyperDrive upgrade.

LEARN MORE

Tailout Sensor

The Tailout Sensor: An Essential Component in Inventory and Scrap Management

The AMS XL series controller and AMS’ Eclipse Production Management System are two essential components when integrating a roll-forming production line with all available integrated manufacturing tools. To complete this solution and provide the most highly accurate scrap tracking capabilities, addition of a tailout sensor on all machines is very important.

The tailout sensor is simply a material sensor installed near the material encoder. Use of this input can help keep scrap tracking accurate when loading and unloading coils on a roll former, as well as minimize operator intervention when recording scrap data.

The tailout input serves 4 functions to the controller

  1. Automatic prompt of load / unload coil screens.
  2. Reference of new coil to avoid reporting of erroneous start-up scrap.
  3. Automatic halt at end of coil.
  4. Proper reporting of scrap at end of coil.

Automatic Prompt of Load/Unload Coil

When the leading edge of a new coil hits the Tailout sensor a signal is sent to the XL200 controller to prompt operator for a coil change. Even if the operator is away from the main station, the message will be there waiting for him when he returns. This ensures accurate entry of inventory tracking data into controller.

Reference of New Coil

The Tailout input, in conjunction with the Shear to Encoder Distance, is used to correct the starting scrap on a new coil. The more accurate the distance measured from the point where the encoder wheel contacts the material to the back of the shear blade, the more accurate the system will be when reporting scrap. When the leading edge of a new coil hits the Tailout sensor, the controller references the shear to a negative distance equal to the Shear to Encoder Distance parameter.

Automatic Halt

At the end of a coil, when the trailing edge of the material passes the Tailout sensor, the sensor toggles to its “On” position and the controller drops out of the run mode. Once the Tailout sensor has toggled the controller’s input, no more encoder motion is accepted by the controller. If the machine has “tailed out”, then there’s no material to track.

Scrap Tracking at End of Coil

At the end of a coil, some amount of scrap is typically unavoidable. Material may be of poor quality at end of the roll and / or the final length of material may come off the encoder and becomes unstable as the material “tails-out.” Because of these issues, when the controller receives the tailout input, it automatically reports any material past the shear plus the Shear To Encoder Distance as scrap. This happens with no operator intervention.

Often, there will be enough good material between the encoder and the leading edge that the operator will be able to hand-position the material and perform a standing cut to get one last, good piece.

In conclusion, the most complete and optimal solution to maximize scrap reduction is to combine AMS’ Eclipse production management software with an XL200 series controller along with a tailout sensor to track material to the most accurate level possible.

How much scrap could be saved in your operation? How much more accurate could you be recording your coil consumption? Ask us to help you find out.

Copyright 2023 AMS Controls. All rights reserved.