Automation Brings Opportunity to Digitalization of Packaging Machinery

As early as a few years ago, no one would have expected packaging machinery to go digital with unusually rapid speeds. With the speed of the electronic process becoming faster and faster, the number of cables required for the bus system has been greatly reduced, together with the decentralized computer. With the advent of digital packaging machines, they take up less space than previous mechanical or electromechanical packaging machines.

Digital packaging machinery not only provides greater output and more flexible equipment, but also adds many new features such as: remote maintenance, integration with the company's ERP system, and evaluation of production data.

The era of automation in the packaging industry began approximately 20 years ago, when a fully programmable machine was equipped with a programmable logic controller PLC for controlling the logic functions and the mechanical power shaft of the drive. However, the flexibility of the first generation of automation equipment is not satisfactory, there are many types of food, the life cycle is shortened, and the products tend to be diversified, which stimulates greater demand for equipment flexibility. In later developed second-generation automation equipment, more and more functions were transferred from the mechanical power shaft to the electronic drive system, and the logic function was still controlled by the PLC system.

Control and drive technology has proven to be a key technology in the field of packaging machinery structures. Today's fully electronic third-generation machines have all the advantages of servo technology while setting new industry standards. Digital packaging machinery not only provides greater output and more flexible equipment, but also adds many new features such as: remote maintenance, integration with the company's ERP system, and evaluation of production data.

The logic functions originally performed by the PLC are losing their importance, and now the electronic motion function is dominant. With the increase in the flexibility of the equipment, the number of servo motors is also increasing. This means that physical and logical interfaces are no longer needed due to different programming languages ​​and systems. Since the mid-1990s, some companies have driven the trend of integrated motion control and logic control solutions in the area of ​​packaging machinery.

Top loading devices are becoming more and more popular in carton packaging. Flexible cartoners load from above and are more flexible than horizontal machines. The robot arm can be equipped with different vacuum grips to accommodate a wide range of products. This solution is also effective for composite packaging. For example, in pharmaceuticals, blister packs, ampoules, medicine bottles, medicine instructions, and medicine spoons can all be packaged using top loading equipment. In the confectionary area, top loading equipment is used to place a wide variety of different shapes of chocolate in deep dishes. The flexibility of top loading equipment operation is also valid for larger packaging. The machine needs only minor adjustments to adapt to different container shapes. This means that new product types can meet future requirements.