The ROPEX RES series is a family of sensorless temperature controllers purpose-built for heat sealing and hot-air applications in packaging, medical device, and plastics processing machinery. Unlike generic PID controllers, RES controllers employ ROPEX's proprietary RESISTRON® technology: they continuously measure the electrical resistance of the heat sealing band itself—50 times per second at 50 Hz, 60 times per second at 60 Hz—using the band's known temperature coefficient of resistance to calculate actual temperature without an external thermocouple or RTD. The series is offered in two form factors: a display version for control panel mounting, and a DIN rail version (RES series without display) for installation inside the electrical cabinet, where temperature setpoints and actual values are exchanged with the machine PLC via 0–10 VDC analog signals or digital fieldbus protocols.

Sensorless Measurement — No Thermocouple, No Drift

• Resistance-Based Temperature Detection: The controller injects a precise measurement current into the heat sealing band and simultaneously samples voltage and current at the band terminals. The instantaneous resistance is calculated via Ohm's law, and temperature is derived from the band's known temperature coefficient (configurable from 400 to 4000 ppm). This eliminates thermocouple wire breakage, cold-junction compensation errors, and the thermal lag inherent in external sensors.
• 50/60 Hz Measurement Rate: Temperature is recalculated every mains cycle (50 or 60 times per second), enabling the controller to track the rapid heating and cooling cycles characteristic of impulse sealing—heating pulses as short as a few hundred milliseconds with heating rates up to 6000 K/s.
• Multi-Alloy Selection: The temperature coefficient and temperature range (0…300 °C or 0…500 °C) are configurable via a rotary coding switch on the front panel or through ROPEXvisual software, allowing the same controller to be used with different heat sealing band alloys (e.g., Nifethal 70, Alloy 60, A-20) simply by changing a setting.

AUTOCAL, AUTOTUNE, AUTOCOMP — Full Auto Suite

• AUTOCAL (Automatic Zero Calibration): At every start-up, the controller automatically measures the cold resistance of the connected heat sealing band and compensates for lead resistance, connector contact resistance, and ambient temperature variations. No manual zero-point adjustment is ever required.
• AUTOTUNE (Automatic Optimization): Analyzes the thermal response of the heat sealing system and automatically optimizes the internal PID control parameters to match the thermal inertia of the specific sealing bar, transformer, and tooling combination.
• AUTOCOMP (Automatic Phase-Angle Compensation): Compensates for mains voltage fluctuations and transformer phase-angle errors, ensuring consistent heating energy delivery even under unstable supply conditions.
• AUTORANGE: Automatically detects and configures the secondary voltage and current range of the connected sealing transformer, simplifying commissioning.

DIN Rail Mounting & PLC Integration

• Fieldbus Options Across the Series: RES controllers are available with PROFIBUS (RES-406), CANopen (RES-5009), PROFINET (RES-5010), EtherNet/IP (RES-5011), and EtherCAT (RES-5012) interfaces—enabling direct digital communication with Siemens, Rockwell, Beckhoff, or Bosch Rexroth PLCs without protocol converters or gateways.
• Analog Signal Integration: For simpler architectures, the setpoint is received as a 0–10 VDC analog signal or via a potentiometer (0–2 kΩ), and the actual temperature is output as a galvanically isolated 0–10 VDC analog signal proportional to the measured temperature—the standard analog interface for most machine PLCs.
• 24 VDC Control Signals: Galvanically isolated 24 VDC inputs for START, AUTOCAL, and RESET provide immediate, unambiguous control commands from the machine PLC without relying on communication protocol timing.
• Compact DIN Rail Format: The compact DIN rail housing (standard EN 50022 rail) installs directly in the electrical cabinet alongside contactors, circuit breakers, and the PLC, with all wiring connections made via clearly labeled pluggable screw terminals.

Technical Specifications

• Power Supply: 110–480 V AC, 47–63 Hz (wide-range supply covers global industrial mains voltages without transformer adjustment).
• Temperature Range: 0…300 °C or 0…500 °C, selectable by alloy type and temperature coefficient setting.
• Temperature Coefficient: 400…4000 ppm, configurable in five ranges via rotary coding switch (e.g., 1100 ppm = 0…300 °C for Alloy A20).
• Analog Output: 0…10 V DC, galvanically isolated, proportional to actual temperature (0 V = 0 °C, 10 V = max. range).
• Setpoint Input: 0…10 V DC analog signal or potentiometer (0…2 kΩ resistive input).
• Alarm Output: Potential-free relay contact with LED indication and error diagnostics code.
• Standards: Manufactured according to DIN EN 61010-1; UL certified for North American installations.
• Diagnostics: ROPEXvisual® software via Micro-USB (CI-USB-1 diagnostic interface); 8 channels for administration of different calibration values (on select models).

Typical Applications

• Impulse heat sealing of PE, PP, and multi-layer barrier films in food packaging machines
• Hot-bar soldering of flexible printed circuits and ribbon cables
• Hot-air temperature control in shrink-wrap tunnels and film sealing stations
• Medical device sterile-barrier pouch sealing
• Plastic tube and bag forming, filling, and sealing (FFS) machines