Control Engineering

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Is that a Sequence or is that a Recipe? The answer is YES!
June 10, 2008

It seems that the packaging industry has Sequences where the Batch industry has Recipes. Each has procedures and formula, each has header information and equipment requirements. The packaging industry has a much smaller number of “Sequences” per their machines than the batch industry has “Recipes” for their units.

In general the batch industry uses supervisory systems managing recipes to direct equipment phase control that is considered to occur in the physical equipment in the form of logic in controllers that direct the physical parts of a unit. I say “in general” because I have seen implementations where the batch recipes exist and are managed in the same controllers as the equipment phase. Does this change the recipe in any way other than it no longer is in a supervisory computer? I don’t think it has to, but others may not agree. The Master Recipe may very well have existed in a supervisory computer and the control recipe copy is downloaded into the equipment and managed there, does this change anything?

So what about packaging machines? They generally have their “Sequences” stored in the Equipment much like the Control Recipe described above only it never requires a download. Just the formula (sometimes called the recipe in packaging machine speak) downloaded which generally comes from a supervisory something external from the machine. There generally are several “Sequences” existing in a machine at any one time but only one can be active at any time. Sounds a bit like a batch “Master Recipe” doesn’t it? And it becomes a “Control Recipe” when a formula is provided, and it becomes active.

So what is the problem? Can’t we just acknowledge that different industries have developed different definitions using the same words in different ways to describe the same thing? Then we just document these similarities and differences so we can understand what truly is the same and what must be different? Then we just get along and work together for the betterment of all? It doesn’t seem as if at this point in time that we can do those things.

There are always groups of “purists” in any industry that will always take an intractable position and defend it to the last breath. I have seen many of these purists in the batch and packaging industries working to defend their positions. Frankly I don’t know who will prevail, the purists or the masses that want and need change.

Please share your thoughts. Also read: What is Recipe Control? and prior postings.

Posted by David Chappell on June 10, 2008 | Comments (1)