A dual motor NP632 inserter, NP125 delivery conveyor and three drop station drives at the Minneapolis Star Tribune are being replaced in a contract with Electronic Design Group and Newspaper Solutions

The inserter and the conveyor get current PLCs and AC drives, with servo equipment on the NP125 solution replaced with a standard PLC and drive. A door-mounted touch screen will be provided for each gripper and inserter to display machine status including permissives and faults. An event history permits quick diagnosis of issues and a historical list of previous conditions.

Drive/motor status information like speed and torque will be shown on this operator interface. The PLC, drives and touchscreen on the gripper and inserter will all communicate over ethernet ridding hardwired discrete signals.

Postpress operations director Kristie Alberty says some parts for the current drives are no longer available: "We are doing this project to extend the life of the equipment," she says.