AMCOR CARDBOARD - WOHLENBERG GUILLOTINE UPGRADE / Job No:# 3825


Amcor Cartonboard, a division of Amcor Packaging (Australia) decided to upgrade their existing Wohlenberg Guillotine because the old microprocessor based control system had become increasingly unreliable, and spare parts were becoming expensive and difficult to source. Safety, ease of operator use and reliability were the primary machine considerations of the upgrade.

After submitting the successful tender MPA subsequently upgraded the guillotine to PLC control, using a Siemens S7-226 programmable logic controller (PLC) and a Siemens TP-170 Touch Panel. The PLC enables greater flexibility in programming operations, and in guillotine control, while also allowing maintenance staff access to the PLC program in order to check the machine’s status - a facility not available with the old microprocessor program.

MPA installed password protection on the software, which prevents unauthorised modifications. User/machine safety was a primary focus in the new system design, and as such many of the key safety features of the original machine were retained, including; Electronic Watchdog Card, Light Barrier Interface, Safety Pin on the Knife Flywheel and Hardwiring of the Knife Control Switches through the Knife Clutch. As part of the upgrade, the operator-machine interface was also dramatically improved. The old screen and button display often caused confusion, while not providing sufficient information to the operator.

To overcome this, MPA used a Siemens TP170 touch panel in order to display relevant operator information. This information includes data on the programmed position of the guillotine, cutting lengths and fault conditions. The TP170 is also capable of high-speed communications with the PLC. Its ability to communicate at 187.5 kbs (kilobytes per second) ensures the back gauge position is continuously displayed. The new system also incorporates two keypads for entering cutting lengths and other programming functions.

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