Perfect teamwork

Bizerba’s intrinsically safe technology for hazardous areas ensures absolutely safe working conditions – individual work steps no longer have to be controlled and monitored outside the Ex zone and explosion-proof isolating stages are unnecessary. Bizerba Ex terminals can also be connected in a Profibus DPRS485 Ex network as specified by Profibus International, enabling costs to be kept to a minimum. Bizerba equipment for hazardous areas comprises the same operating and control logic as that for non-Ex zones, so that both operators and those responsible for control and IT profit from efficient and standardised procedures and operating structures.

The ST-Ex terminal with Ethernet interface permits fast data communication within the Ex-protected zone. The instantaneous exchange of data and signals with higher-level host and IT systems as well as input/output devices particularly accelerates automatic processes. The Bizerba Ethernet interface is supported by the BCT communication tool running on the PC, which provides the programmer with a classic file interface and ActiveX components. ActiveX speeds up programming and improves the security of the program sequence. BCT controls the complete session layer to the industrial terminals. The wide range of standard applications fulfils the requirements and needs of every customer. From simple weighing systems to dosing/filling, label printing, real-time system control and connection to the customer’s PLC or IT – any solution is possible. The modularity of the Bizerba systems, their intrinsically safe Ex design and their simple configuration enable this equipment to be expanded or upgraded directly in the hazardous area at any time. New interfaces can be integrated easily, new load receptors connected and new software programs loaded.

Bizerba offers the BPW-Ex pallet truck scale with integrated electronic weighing system for efficient streamlining of logistical processes in potentially explosive atmosphere. This device saves valuable time during batching, formulating and dosing. Since it is mobile yet constantly online, the BPW-Ex pallet truck scale represents an attractive alternative for rational and efficient data exchange with MES and ERP systems. The BPW is wirelessly connected to these systems, making it extremely flexible. The scale is made of stainless steel. It can thus be cleaned very easily and is suitable for use in production areas which meet hygienic standards and requirements.

High-speed GLP printers round off the product range for hazardous areas. With a printing speed of up to 250 mm/s and a width of up to 160 mm, these printers are extremely versatile. All printers and remote displays are also available with the Ex p type of protection (pressurised enclosure) for use in hazardous areas. In addition, the GLP printers permit RFID labels to be printed in the HF and UHF frequency ranges. Suitable RFID units can be supplied for the GLP80 and GLP160 models.

The German company Altana Pharma AG uses this weighing and printing technology at its production site in Singen. Altana Pharma develops, produces and sells a wide range of medicinal products. Innovative ethical drugs to treat respiratory and gastro-intestinal diseases are its speciality.

Several Bizerba applications are used for weighing-in and dosing different substances in the isolator. The validated system, approved by TÜV (German Technical Inspectorate), is installed in the hazardous area. Weighing-in is carried out manually by an operator using an isolator standing on two precision scales. Smaller containers are filled into bags and conveyed via a sluice from the isolator to the hazardous area for labelling. Larger containers are filled into a bin attached to the isolator. In the Ex room the bin stands underneath the isolator on a load receptor which is connected to an ST-Ex terminal next to the isolator.

The ST-Ex terminal and all other weighing-in and dosing processes are controlled by the modular Biceps software system from LogicaCMG. This software has been validated according to FDA guidelines. Work orders are supplied by the SAP system, in which recipes are also processed, edited and saved. The operator selects the items to be processed on the industrial PC on which the Biceps software is installed in the Ex room and scans the container label of the batch to be weighed in. Once the eligibility of this batch for weighing in has been verified, the concentrations and the ratio of active to neutralizing agent are calculated from the scheduled quantity. The weighing-in process starts as soon as the operator has selected the scale, set the zero and tared. The settings for the load receptor in the hazardous area are entered on the ST-Ex terminal, which transmits weight data to the system during the weighing-in process. If the net quantity is within the permissible tolerance, this process is completed for the selected item. It is possible to continue the process in case of under-dosing. When the weighing-in process has been completed, the GLP printer in Ex-p design located in the hazardous area prints the container label which the operator then affixes to the bin.

Thanks to the perfect teamwork of the Bizerba weighing and printing technology for hazardous areas and the Biceps software, Altana Pharma profits from a modular, integrated application for processing and controlling complex weighing-in processes in extreme ambient conditions.

Weighing and printing technology cpp 469

Biceps software cpp 470

More about the ST-Terminal

GLP printer

Software from LogicaCMG

Altana Pharma in the overview