Industry 4.0-enabled bar feeding

Reliance solely on an Internet link simplifies set-up. It also has the advantage that equipment status and performance can be monitored on a PC, tablet or a smartphone away from the factory, for example when travelling.

Psotti pointed out that in 2013, Iemca was the first barfeed manufacturer to start researching connectivity and was the first with a wireless data solution. In Italy alone there are more than 300 Iemca Industry 4.0 barfeed installations and the popularity of the system is quickly growing.

All Iemca barfeed models can be Industry 4.0 enabled. The system shown at MACH 2018 was on one of the manufacturer's flagship models, the Boss 338 HD.

First retrofittable bundle loader
Magazines fitted to a barfeed can extend the length of uninterrupted operating time considerably, but until now such equipment has been a factory fitted option and a user may not have been ready for it at the time of the original purchase.

At MACH 2018, the first-ever bundle loader capable of being added to a barfeed already installed and running in a factory was launched on the stand of Iemca’s UK agent, 1st MTA. Called the Caddy F, it was demonstrated working with the Boss 338 HD barfeed. Capable of accommodating a 250 mm diameter bundle of bars weighing up to 2.5 tonnes, the loader is of open design so can easily be replenished with new stock material.

Availability was also announced of a Caddy P version, which is a multi-rack system capable of up to two meters of additional capacity. Both the Caddy F and the Caddy P have been designed to allow access to the barfeed by means of a rail system mounted on the floor.