In practice, however, it is not that simple. For example, wear and tear, changes in the delivered material, its varying moisture content and unplanned production interruptions may lead to variations in the production process, which have a direct effect on the product quality.

With the analysis of material samples, preventive maintenance work and the experience of the operators, countermeasures can be taken in time and the desired quality can still be ensured. However, experience gained over many years cannot always simply be transferred to a new employee and this may result in incorrect assessments.

With the new K-Matic Moisture Control KELLER offers the operator a simple possibility to permanently monitor the changes in the preparation water content by continuous measurement or indication of the measured value and to react directly to them - without waiting for a moisture analysis, which, moreover, only reflects the condition of the material at the time of sampling. Furthermore, clear measured values enable even inexperienced operating personnel to react adequately to variations in the preparation water content.

The measured value can be transmitted and evaluated both analogue and digital through various interfaces. This also allows automation of the required water addition.

At the KDW clinker roof tile plant of the ABC-Klinkergruppe at the Natrup-Hagen site, for example, the implementation of the K-Matic Moisture Control in the production of roof tiles and accessories has further improved the production processes and therefore the product quality. By the continuous measurement of the input moisture of the operation mass delivered from the central preparation plant, the required addition of preparation water can now be controlled more precisely, so that an even more constant operation of the shaping lines is achieved. "This is an investment that one would no longer want to do without," says Klaus Kuhlmann, the Plant Manager. "The improved efficiency in the production process is also reflected by the reduced waste rate.”

In cooperation with SEW, KELLER HCW has completely revised its previous cutter technology to meet the future requirements. SEW converters of the Movi-C generation are used for the new development of the cutter. The modular design allows optimum energy efficiency. The common intermediate circuit ensures the energy exchange between the axes. Due to the different acceleration and deceleration requirements of the drives, the braking energy of one axis can be used for the acceleration of the other axis. In this way, energy losses in the braking resistors and thus cooling measures in the switch cabinet can be reduced. The high-performance Movi-C controller calculates the complete cam disk application by using basic mathematical functions. Therefore, the former data blocks for the individual cam points belong to the past. The customer can make necessary changes to products independently using the Keller operating concept. The dimensions and output data for each size are stored in the Siemens TIA control system. The cutting length can be variably adjusted in the running process. In addition, the time for cutting and spacing and the distance between the gaps can be influenced.

The lifting of wires and tables is automatically calculated in the controller. The communication between the TIA control system and the SEW control system is reached by the Profinet fieldbus system. Moreover, the system is optimized by the improved controller properties of the Movi-C series.

The clay column detection can be realized by an incremental encoder on a measuring roller or measuring belt or optically via a laser. The advantage of the optical clay column detection by laser is the avoidance of mechanical influences on the measurement result during the cutting process.

Furthermore, functional safety is an integral part of this converter series up to PL (Performance Level) according to EN ISO 13849-1 or SIL 3 (Safety Integrity Level) according to EN 61800-5-2, EN 61508.

With its roots dating back to 1902, Corobrik has become the market leader, above all because of its high quality standard. This quality standard is not only realized by the excellently trained employees, but of course also by the quality of the production facilities.

Here, KELLER could once again prove the quality of its plants at the largest production site with 90 million SBE. It should also be mentioned that the site was already established by KELLER in the early 1980s.

The fully automatic unloading system starts with the unloading of packs from the kiln car. The packs are then de-stacked in layers by industrial robots and divided into individual rows.
After manual sorting, the bricks are formed to packs without pallets and are strapped vertically and horizontally.

This important project for Corobrik and KELLER, combined with the professional cooperation of all partners, was a complete success. Not only the required plant capacity could be well achieved, but also the quality of the dispatch packs could be improved, which has a positive effect, especially on longer journeys to the end customer.