Matroller includes predictive adaptive control

Manufacturers of precision instruments and Procter and consumer products have teamed up to offer a material transfer (ingredient addition) control solution.

Mettler Toledo, a leading manufacturer of precision instruments, and Procter and Gamble (P and G), a leading manufacturer of consumer products, today announced an exclusive agreement for Mettler Toledo to market Q.i, the first commercially available material transfer (ingredient addition) control solution.

Mettler Toledo will launch Q.i later this quarter.

Q.i is a package of software and services that combines the predictive adaptive control (PAC) technology developed by P and G with Mettler Toledo's material transfer controller (matroller).

This unique solution promises to generate higher levels of performance for companies in their batching and filling systems, as well as substantial short-term and long-term savings due to reduced batch cycle time, decreased capital equipment expenses and maintenance costs, and increased material transfer control.

In field tests and in real world applications by P and G, Q.i increased manufacturing throughput by up to 30% while increasing cut-off accuracy by up to 90%.

"Q.i is a proven solution for optimizing material transfer control that can yield significant benefits for any manufacturing company that uses batching or filling control systems," said Rodger Jeffery, Mettler Toledo's business development manager for Q.i.

" By bringing together the best products and technologies through strategic alliances, Mettler Toledo ensures that its customers can benefit from solutions that will give them the edge in today's competitive manufacturing business." How Q.i works - Q.i monitors material transfer operations by measuring the flow rate of a material at periodic points, and then building a mathematical model of the process.

Based on the historical information gathered, it predicts how the delivery system will react when instructed by the control system to complete the material transfer (feed).

It then automatically compensates for normal process variants that cause errors, eliminating costly raw material over-feed/underfeed, and allowing for optimal delivery of the material as quickly and as closely to the desired setpoint as possible.

"The Q.i solution arose from P and G's desire to develop a simpler way to deal with material transfers," said David Chappel, senior engineer and batch section manager at P and G's Central Engineering Technology Laboratory.

"Because material transfer cut-off is predicted ahead of time, the system executes using simple on-off control rather than the more complicated multi-speed control scheme used in most batching and filling systems.

The result is reduced batch cycle time and higher manufacturing throughput." Q.i is a complete solution that also includes a combination of performance analysis software, collaborative production management tools, predictive/preventive diagnostics, and a team of Mettler Toledo experts who are available around the clock and around the globe.

The Q.i software monitors the material transfer processes and alerts the Q.i team when problems are encountered to help resolve problems before they disrupt production.

Q.i also includes programs for gathering and analyzing data to provide statistical, diagnostic, and operational information on the material transfer system, as well as for asset management, batch server, process control, and spreadsheet or database applications.

Mettler Toledo is a leading global manufacturer of precision instruments.

The Company is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial and food retailing applications.

The Company also holds top-three market positions in several related analytical instruments and is a leading provider of automated chemistry systems used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development.

In addition, the Company is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of metal detection systems used in production and packaging.

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