The ZE 28 BluePower will play an important role in the live demonstration of the closed material cycle, in which a colored PP recompound for high-quality applications will be created from injection molded and subsequently shredded medical caps at the trade show. For sustainability reasons, such complex extrusion processes using reclaimed input material with varying characteristics to produce finished additivated and colored recompounds are becoming more and more standard in this branch of industry. The higher the process complexity in terms of feeding, coloring and degassing, the more data must be processed by the control system and displayed on the user interface. “The more data have to be displayed and considered at the same time, the more confusing the representation on the screen becomes. This in turn makes operation increasingly difficult and errors are likely to occur more frequently,” René Jordan reports from many discussions with users. This is why KraussMaffei focused on human-centered design in the development of the new interface and started preparing a requirements plan with customers from the tire, pipe and foam industries and in cooperation with the SKZ institute in Würzburg.

The core feature of the new user interface are so-called wizards that provide the operator with step-by-step instructions for certain procedures such as starting the production line or shutting it down. “The new interface ensures that operators receive the right information at exactly the right moment and can additionally store their experiences in the system, so that colleagues will also benefit from them,” emphasizes René Jordan. This will enable even less experienced staff members to control complex extrusion processes. Operating errors are thus reduced, which minimizes standstill periods and optimizes production efficiency. The visual design of the display is simple self-explanatory, well-structured and clear – true to the motto “as much as necessary, as little as possible”. Any deviations from setpoints are indicated at an early stage by visual feedback, so that intervention is possible before it becomes even necessary. Thanks to the modular HMI design, new applications like KraussMaffei’s ColorAdjust color measuring and control system (which will also be exhibited at the trade show) can be integrated into the control interface without having to adapt the operating concept.