Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc.

Technical Solution Reference Guide

An Application Tech Note for

Vertical Form Fill & Seal

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1. Overview ................................................................................................3
2. Application Example ..............................................................................3
2.1 Forming process: .............................................................................................. 4
2.2 Vertical index and fill processes:....................................................................... 4
2.3 Seal and cut processes:.................................................................................... 5
2.4 Conveyor control:.............................................................................................. 5
3. Product Solutions...................................................................................6
4. Mechanical Information..........................................................................7
4.1 Mechanical settings for the vertical indexing axes ............................................ 7
4.2 Mechanical settings for the sealing/cutting axis ................................................ 7
5. Hardware/Software Configuration..........................................................8
5.1 Overview ........................................................................................................... 8
5.2 Multiple CPU Settings ....................................................................................... 9
5.3 PLC CPU Settings .......................................................................................... 11
5.4 Motion CPU Settings....................................................................................... 14
6. Variables Used.....................................................................................17
7. Programming Details ...........................................................................19
7.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 19
7.2 Initialization and parameter refresh................................................................. 20
7.2.1 Structured text ......................................................................................... 20
7.2.2 Homing SFC ............................................................................................ 21
7.2.3 Switching to virtual mode ......................................................................... 22
7.3 Vertical film indexing process.......................................................................... 23
7.3.1 Concept ................................................................................................... 23
7.3.2 Indexing CAM profile options ................................................................... 24
7.3.3 Ladder and SFC ...................................................................................... 24
7.4 Sealing/Cutting Process.................................................................................. 26
7.4.1 Concept ................................................................................................... 26
7.5 Temperature Control....................................................................................... 26
7.5.1 Concept ................................................................................................... 26
7.5.2 Details to maintain constant temperature................................................. 26
8. GOT Screen Information......................................................................28
9. References...........................................................................................29

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Application Tech Note for
Vertical Form Fill & Seal
1. Overview
Vertical form fill & seal applications utilize servo motor technology to accurately pull and
feed plastic film material from a roll stock to be heat formed, volume dosed with a
product, and then sealed and cut to be carried away by an unloading conveyor. While
the methods for filling and sealing vary from machine to machine, vertical form fill & seal
applications are essentially organized into two categories; Continuous motion bagging
machines and intermittent motion bagging machines. Product entering the feeder can
vary from a viscous fluid to a solid material and will often play a key role in how the
machine is designed.

2. Application Example
For the program data included with this example, the machine setup shown in Figure 1
applies. As illustrated, two servo motors connected to rubber gripping rollers are used
to move the plastic film in a downward direction, intermittently, toward the
sealing/cutting arms. The conical feeder at the top assists in mechanically forming the
material around the tubular fill pipe. Product is dispensed immediately after each seal
process.

Figure 1: Vertical form fill & seal application diagram

Roll stock
Product In
Feeder

Tension
Bag shaping control coil
funnel hood spring lever

Vertical film
index drives

Vertical
thermal heat
sealer

Sealing and
Cutting arms

Unloading conveyor

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Figure 2 illustrates the timing involved to control each of the servo axes on the vertical
form fill & seal machine. For more information on how each of these axes operates,
refer to Chapter 7 – Programming Details.

Figure 2: Vertical form fill & seal application timing chart

This timing comes from
Pulling bag the setting [bags/min]
with CAM curve
Vertical
pulling axis
#1 and #2

Seal
&
Seal axis Cut Open
Close

Pouring Open Close

valve
Sealing time comes
from the setting [msec]

2.1 Forming process:

The forming process takes place automatically with a cone-shaped funnel at the top of
the machine where pre-printed rollstock material gets stretched through the shaping
hood to create a tubular shape. Heat is then applied to seal the plastic closed.

Figure 3: Forming process with temperature control

Heat is
The bag is applied to Note:
formed into seal the The Q64TCTT
a tubular material into temperature controller is
shape. a tube. used here.

2.2 Vertical index and fill processes:

Filling commences as soon as the bottom of a bag has been formed. The two servo
motors increment forward so the seal/cut process can then occur. Vertical index
operations can be performed with CAM profiles to make the movement smoother.

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Figure 4: Indexing film material with servo rollers

Servo rollers Note:

grip the HF-KP servo motors are
material to used to control the
be indexed. vertical index rollers.

2.3 Seal and cut processes:

For the sealing station, a back-and-forth motion (in real mode) is used to control a single
axis of servo. Each seal operation is called to begin immediately after an index move
has completed. Mechanical details for linking both of the sealer arms and for
cushioning the sealing arms to apply heat are not explained in this document.

The sealing axis performs three operations at once:

1) Melt plastic film to form top of completed bag
2) Melt plastic film to form bottom of next bag
3) Cut between top and bottom seals

The cutting knife is built into the sealing arm in this application and should be
programmed according to the type of machine. Typically, this procedure is controlled
using external I/O and will function off of a timer.

Figure 5: Sealing and cutting with the same axis

Heat is applied on Note:
the top and bottom An HF-KP servo motor
areas. A knife is used to move the
cuts in the center. sealing arms. The
Q64TCTT regulates
temperature.

2.4 Conveyor control:

In some vertical form fill & seal applications, a conveyor moves finished product upward
toward another location to be collected in a separate area. In this application, a
conveyor transports the product horizontally to be collected in a bin. A VFD is used to
drive an induction motor that is connected to the conveyor.

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3. Product Solutions
Hardware:
1* GT1555 (HMI)
1* Q170M CPU (Motion controller)
1* QX40 (Digital inputs)
1* QY40 (Digital outputs)
1* Q64TCTT (Temperature control unit)
3* MR-J3-( )B (Servo amplifiers)
3* HF-KP (Servo motor)
1* FR-E700 (VFD)
1* Q55B (Extension base unit)

Software:
GT Designer2 (HMI software)
GX Works2 (PLC software)
MT Works2 (Motion software)
MR Configurator (Servo software)
(SETUP 221E version C2 or later)

Figure 6: Product configuration with Mitsubishi Electric products

Q170MCPU GT1555

RS232

Q55B

RS485
QX40 Q64TCTT
QY40

FR-E700
MR-J3-B

AC induction
motor
HF-KP motors

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4. Mechanical Information
Vertical form fill & seal applications involve a lot of mechanical components that function
independently from the control system. For a motion controller in the control system,
however, there are a handful of parameters, or mechanical settings, that must be
established based on the relationship between the servo motors and the physical world.
The following information relates to these settings and must be configured appropriately.

4.1 Mechanical settings for the vertical indexing axes

The program in this example does not include any reduction gear settings, which means
that each rubber roller rotates 1:1 with the servo motor.
Servo #1, #2 Resolution: 262,144 pulses/rev
Servo #1, #2 Travel/Rev: 9.42478 inch/rev

4.2 Mechanical settings for the sealing/cutting axis

For every rotation of the servo motor, the sealing/cutting axis moves 9.42478 inches.
Servo #3 Resolution: 262,144 pulses/rev
Servo #3 Travel/Rev: 9.42478 inch/rev

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5. Hardware/Software Configuration

5.1 Overview
The Q170MCPU stand-alone motion controller has a built-in PLC CPU, the Q03UD
CPU, which may be used to manage all of the machine logic, timing and interlock
functions for this application, along with providing an interface to the GOT, analog and
discrete I/O. The Q03UD CPU sends commands to the motion controller, or the
Q170MCPU, through the iQ Series’ Multiple CPU high-speed transmission bus.
All programming, parameter setting and monitoring of the PLC CPU, Motion CPU and
servo amplifiers is done through a single touch panel GOT that is connected to the PLC
CPU via the bus connection. Since the GOT is mounted outside the electric cabinet, it
is possible to operate everything without opening the cabinet.

Figure 7: Hardware/Software configuration overview

Q170MCPU
Q55B
RS232
iQ High-speed bus

RS485

QX40 Q64TCTT
QY40

FR-E700

MR-J3-B

USB or
Ethernet

HF-KP

GX Works2 for PLC GT Works2 for GOT

MT Works2 for Motion MR Configurator for Servo

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5.2 Multiple CPU Settings
In order to enable the industry’s highest memory sharing controller performance, the
Multiple CPU setting parameters must be configured as shown below.

CPU1: The PLC “Q03UD CPU” sends 7k words to the

Motion controller “Q170M CPU”.
CPU2: The Motion controller “Q170M CPU” sends 7k words to the
PLC CPU “Q03UD CPU”.

Table 1: Multiple CPU Settings for two CPUs

CPU1 CPU2
“Q03UD CPU” “Q170M CPU”
Word
CPU1 total 7K
User U3E0/G10000 6948 Write Read
devices U3E0/G15923
Auto U3E0/G16948 200 Write to Read from
refresh U3E0/G17147 W0 to W0C7 W0 to W0C7
devices U3E0/G17148 20 Write to Read from
U3E0/G17167 B0 to B13F B0 to B13F

CPU2 total 7K
User U3E1/G10000 6938 Read Write
devices U3E1/G15913
Auto U3E1/G16938 10 Read from Write to
refresh U3E1/G16947 M2400 to M2559 M2400 to M2559
devices U3E1/G16948 200 Read from Write to
U3E1/G17147 D0 to D199 D0 to D199
U3E1/G17148 20 Read from Write to
U3E1/G17167 B200 to M33F B200 to B33F
Note: The area represents G registers that are consumed automatically and should not be directly
referenced in the program code. These are the “Auto refresh” devices.

The following two figures explain how to use the PLC software and the Motion controller
software to configure these memory sharing ranges.

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Figure 8: PLC CPU – Multiple CPU Setting in GX Works2

Figure 9: Motion CPU – Multiple CPU Setting in MT Works2

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5.3 PLC CPU Settings
Along with the Multiple CPU settings, the PLC’s I/O Assignment must be configured to
match the hardware’s actual configuration using the GX Works2 software. For more
information on the hardware involved, refer to Figures 6 and 7 above.

Figure 10: PLC I/O Assignment parameter settings

In the PLC CPU’s parameter settings under the ‘Program’ tab, three Program Names
are set. “TEMP” controls the temperature control unit “Q64TCTT”. “MAIN” controls all
timing and logic for the motion. “MAIN1” calculates all of the math.

Figure 11: PLC Program parameter settings

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The parameters in the ‘PLC System’ tab for the Timer Limit Setting have also been
changed so that the Low Speed timers count up every 10 ms and the High Speed
timers count up every 1.00 ms.

Figure 12: PLC System parameter settings

Lastly, parameters for the Q64TCTT temperature controller are configured. The
following two figures provide an example of changing a few settings and assigning data
registers to the analog channels.

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Figure 13: Temperature controller parameter settings

Channel 1 and Channel

2 are set to ‘Used’. CH1
maintains heat for the
vertical tubular seal
process. CH2 maintains
heat for the sealing arm.

Figure 14: Temperature controller device settings

Define data registers

for CH1 and CH2 to
be used in the
program.

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5.4 Motion CPU Settings
Along with the Multiple CPU Settings for the motion controller that are configured in MT
Works2 (as explained in Figure 9), Servo Data settings for each of the three servo axes
must be configured to match the mechanical setup details mentioned in Chapter 4 –
Mechanical Information.

Figure 15: Servo Data settings in MT Works2

Vertical index rollers 1 & 2 Sealer

Also, each of these servo axes is set up to use separate parameter blocks with different
accelerations, decelerations and speed limit settings. These settings are shown below.

Figure 16: Parameter Block settings in MT Works2

The vertical two roller axes have exactly the same servo parameter settings except for
parameter PA14 (servo motor rotation of the direction). The servo parameter settings
are shown in Figure 17.

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Figure 17: Multi Axis servo Parameter setting in MR Configurator from MT Works2

Set
differently
for opposite
rotation
direction.

The next parameter settings to be configured are those for the mechanical editor. CAM
settings for both of the vertical roller axes are shown in Figures 18 & 19. For more
information on how these settings interact with the program, along with a view of the
mechanical editor layout, refer to Chapter 7 – Programming Details.

Figure 18: Vertical roller 1 Figure 19: Vertical roller 2

CAM settings (Ax.1) CAM settings (Ax.2)

Another setting that needs to be configured is the operation specification for the sealing
axis (Axis 3) as a ‘Real Mode’ axis. This setting is accessible through the ‘Option’ menu
from within the mechanical editor and allows you to operate servo commands as Real
Mode commands while running in ‘Virtual Mode’ (with bit M2044 on).

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Figure 20: Real Mode Axis Setting for the Sealing axis

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6. Variables Used
All of the variables used in the program are listed in the table below. For information on
how the variables interact with each other, refer to Chapter 7 – Programming Details
along with the PLC CPU and Motion CPU program data that is included separately.

Table 2: PLC CPU variables involved

Address Label Description
M0 Auto Start request command
M1 Start home request command
M2 Switching to Virtual Mode command
M3 Switching to Real Mode command
M5 Reset System command
M7 gbInit Initialization of the parameters
M8 gbCal Activate new parameters
M10 Start new cycle
M11 Error Status
M502 SFC Error Status Bit 10
M510 SFC Error Status Bit 11
M7000 TC1 Auto/Manual Mode
M7008 TC1 Error reset
M7010 TC1 Auto Tune request command
M7100 TC2 Auto/Manual Mode
M7108 TC2 Error reset
M7110 TC2 Auto Tune request command
B2 Start New machine Cycle
B10 Clutch On command for Roller 1
B11 Clutch On command for Roller 2
B30 Roller axes Jog adjustment (up)
B31 Roller axes Jog adjustment (down)
B200 Start Sealing bit
B201 Motion cycle in progress
B20A Sealing complete bit
B20B Sealing returning to home position
B210 All axes enabled status
B211 All axes home completed status
B212 Virtual Mode status
D500 SFC Error Register
D502 SFC Error Register
D504 SFC Error Register
D506 SFC Error Register
D508 SFC Error Register
D510 SFC Error Register
D512 SFC Error Register
D2000 gTar_Bag Set value bags per hour
D2002 gCycle_Time Machine cycle time (ms)
D2004 gIndex_Dis Bag length / roller Index distance (inch)
D2014 gSeal_Pos Sealing moving distance (inch)
D2016 gLoading_Pos Loading axis moving distance (deg)
D7016 Set value for Temperature control 1
D7024 Status register for Temperature control 1
D7116 Set value for Temperature control 2
D7124 Status register for Temperature control 2

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 W4 gCamFull_PLS Cam full cycle distance
W6 gCamSpd_PLS CAM speed
W10 gSeal_Dis Sealing moving distance (inch x 10-5)
Y4 Output 4 to begin filling product
X4 Input 4 for filling complete
Note: B0 - B13F, W0 - W0C7, and B200 - B33F are common shared memory device areas for both the
PLC CPU and the Motion CPU.

Table 3: Motion CPU variables involved

Address Description
#6114 Cam No. setting device for Roller 1
#6116L Stroke setting device for Roller 1
#6118L Lower stroke limit device for Roller 1
#6120L Main shaft side value for Roller 1
#6214 Cam No. setting device for Roller 2
#6216L Stroke setting device for Roller 2
#6218L Lower stroke limit device for Roller 2
#6220L Main shaft side value for Roller 2
U3E1\G10000 Product count value

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7. Programming Details

7.1 Overview
The following sections provide details on the programming involved for controlling the
vertical form fill & seal application. Although several PLC programming methods from
structured text to ladder programming are used, the customer ultimately has a choice in
selecting the programming method(s). The advantage to using a stand-alone motion
controller is that the user can easily change a part of the PLC program when needed
without significantly affecting other portions of the program code.

The general flow of the SFC programs is shown in Figure 21 below.

Figure 21: SFC program flow

HOME GO TO MOTION CONTROL
VIRTUAL

Home all Switch to Wait Index Seal &

three Virtual for rollers Cut
servo axes Mode PLC

Table 4 below shows the names of the programs in each CPU and describes the
operation method (or start method) for each program.

Table 4: Program types and operation/start methods

Program Name Program Type Operation/Start Method
Main_Ladder Ladder - Automatic start
- Automatic start
PLC Math Structured Text - Main_Ladder (First cycle)
- GOT
TempControl Ladder - Automatic start
- Main_Ladder
Home Return SFC
- Main SFC
Home Axis 1 SFC - Home Return SFC
Home Axis 2 SFC - Home Return SFC
Home Axis 3 SFC - Home Return SFC
Reset System SFC - GOT  Main_Ladder
- Main SFC
Go Virtual SFC
- Main_Ladder
Motion
- Reset System SFC
Back Real SFC
- Main_Ladder
Motion Control SFC - Main SFC
- Automatic Start
Adjustment SFC
- GOT
Sealing SFC - Motion Control
- Automatic start
Main SFC
- Reset System SFC

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A brief description of the PLC CPU’s programming environment is shown below.

Figure 22: PLC CPU programming details within GX Works2

Global variables:
1) Accessible throughout the entire program
2) Used in Structured Text and Structured Ladder

Ladder:
1) Calls Math PRG for initialization on 1st scan
2) Interacts w/ GOT
3) Calls SFC programs

Structured Text:
1) Sets default machine settings
2) Refreshes machine settings when changed

Ladder:
1) Tunes temp. controller’s analog channel
2) Sets Auto/Manual mode for temp. controller
3) Monitors temperature

7.2 Initialization and parameter refresh

7.2.1 Structured text
The structured text part of the PLC CPU program executes with every PLC scan. The
program includes equations to recalculate motion parameters along with the machine’s
cycle time setting when the user enters new values on the GOT. Figure 23 shows an
example of this structured text program.

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Figure 23: Structured text “Math” program

Initializes all user

parameters. Battery
backup registers are
convenient for these
data registers.

Recalculates all user

parameters when a
change is made via
the GOT.

7.2.2 Homing SFC

The homing operation is automatically called every time the power is turned on and is
only performed for each axis when homing hasn’t already been completed. As shown
below, all three axes are homed simultaneously.

Figure 24: Homing SFC for all servo axes

The home routine for each axis is rather straight-forward and can be performed
depending on the need. With the absolute position detection system on the MR-J3-B
amplifiers enabled, the absolute position of the servos is “remembered” after the first
home sequence, which eliminates the need to re-home each axis.

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Figure 25: Home routine example for Axis #1

A data-set homing method is

used here. This method
depends on the actual machine
and is defined in the Servo Data.

Figure 26: Home routine for Seal Axis #3

A data-set homing method is
used here. This method
depends on the actual machine
and is defined in the Servo Data.

The seal axis moves to its actual

home position when homing is
not needed.

7.2.3 Switching to virtual mode

Before operating or starting the vertical form fill & seal application in virtual mode to link
all of the axes, it is necessary turn a specific bit on in the motion controller to begin
Virtual Mode. This bit is M2043 and can be seen in Line 24 of ‘F1’ below.

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Figure 27: Switching to virtual mode

7.3 Vertical film indexing process

7.3.1 Concept
The programming method for indexing the film material downward is relatively straight-
forward. With the mechanical editor in virtual mode, it’s easy to synchronize both of the
vertical film index axes. Figure 28 illustrates the mechanical editor layout for the
application, demonstrating how two axes can be controlled by a virtual servo motor
(V.1) as the drive module.

Figure 28: Mechanical system editor layout for the vertical film indexer axes.

Indexer 1 Indexer 2

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7.3.2 Indexing CAM profile options
As an option, the straight feed CAM profiles in the program can be changed to more
complex feed CAM profiles to safely and securely move more fragile plastic film
materials downward. Also, depending on the weight of the filling product, slower
acceleration/deceleration may be necessary.

7.3.3 Ladder and SFC

A high-speed timer in the PLC CPU controls each operation cycle. When the preset
timer value (gCycle_time) expires and the last machine operation cycle completes, a
new machine cycle starts. Figure 29 shows this timer operation for T0.

Figure 29: PLC timer operation for determining the machine cycle

After completing a machine cycle (i.e. beginning a new cycle) the “Motion control” SFC
program is executed to begin indexing film axes again. Figure 30 shows the “Motion
Control” SFC programming details.

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Figure 30: ‘Motion control’ SFC program layout

Wait for seal process to complete, along

with the machine operation cycle time to
complete from the PLC.

CAM stroke amount setting equivalent to

film indexing length / bag length.

W0004 = 262144 PLS

Call the Sealing SFC

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7.4 Sealing/Cutting Process
7.4.1 Concept
The sealing and cutting processes take place at the end of each machine cycle, just
after the indexing process. Each seal/cut process is commanded by the “Motion
control” SFC program. Figure 31 illustrates the program flow for the “Sealing” SFC
program in the motion controller.

Figure 31: Sealing SFC program details

Sealing arm axis

moves to the seal
position

Wait for a
predetermined time

Sealing arm returns

to home position

7.5 Temperature Control

7.5.1 Concept
Constant heat is applied to the sealing arms to form the tops and bottoms of the bags.
For shaping the film material into a tube, continuous heat is also applied in the vertical
direction. A more complex mechanical setup may be necessary to remove heat at
certain times.

7.5.2 Details to maintain constant temperature

The temperature control unit, Q64TCTT, automatically controls the temperature of the
heating units for the tube forming and horizontal sealing arm axes. Figure 32 displays a
screenshot of the program code for one of the temperature control channels, explaining
how to activate the auto tune feature and automatic adjustment. Following the auto
tune completion, the controller maintains a constant set value temperature value in
D7016 automatically.

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Figure 32: Ladder program for temperature control

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8. GOT Screen Information
An HMI adds extra value to a vertical form fill & seal application and helps to control the
machinery with more flexibility. Operators can easily troubleshoot problems with their
code by viewing PLC ladder logic, monitoring errors, and setting up custom alarm
messages in multiple languages. Another added value in using a Mitsubishi GOT is that
it can be used to read and write VFD parameters, motion controller variables, and even
servo parameters. There are options to add multiple communication channels, and
each GOT includes drivers to communicate to other popular vendors such as equipment
from Siemens and Omron.

The following screens are examples of some of the screens that can be set up with a
vertical form fill & seal application.

Figure 33: Home screen information Figure 34: Main screen information

Figure 35: Settings screen Figure 36: Monitor screen information

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9. References
For more information on the programming and configuration details involved for the
Mitsubishi Electric equipment in this application note, please refer to the appropriate
product manuals. This information can be found on the MEAU website:

http://www.meau.com/eprise/main/sites/public/DOWNLOADS/Manuals/default

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