Packaging Automation & Controls

High-tech case packing
Jack Mans, April 30, 2012
A new case packer at Super-Pufft Snacks, Mississauga, ON, has reduced labor by at least 50 percent, practically eliminated changeover time and improved operating efficiency. Super-Pufft installed a Model VPP robotic vertical case packer from BluePrint Automation that incorporates BluePrint's High-Flow Pick Head. More
Pfizer adopts vision system on bottling lines
Posted by Jack Mans, Plant Operations Editor, April 23, 2012
Pfizer has introduced camera-based vision inspection on five high-speed bottle filling lines at its Pearl River, NY, facility. The plant is implementing the Slat Filler Inspector from Optel Vision (Quebec City, Canada) for 100 percent automated inspection of solid dose multivitamin products. The Optel system replaces manual inspection for improved quality. More
Breathe new life into aging extrusion lines
Posted by Jack Mans, Plant Operations Editor, April 20, 2012
By ugrading an old extrusion laminator's analog drives and discrete controls to the latest Siemens motors and Sinamics S120 digital drives, Amgraph could accommodate new materials, manufacture packages with thicker coatings, achieve uptime of 95 percent or better and increase throughput by 20 percent or more. More
Molded foam cushions give printer parts a tailored fit
Posted by Jenni Spinner, Senior Editor, April 19, 2012
Sealed Air's Instapak iMold system gives the company a cost-effective, sustainable way to package its laser printer parts. More
PMMI adds 17 new members
Posted by Lisa McTigue Pierce, April 18, 2012
"Their membership in PMMI will grant these companies valuable access to business intelligence, networking opportunities and a variety of other resources to strengthen their market positions," says Charles Yuska, PMMI president/CEO. More
Foot switches
Lisa McTigue Pierce, April 16, 2012
New IP65-rated metal guard foot switches, for packaging machines such as wrappers and bundlers, are sold in three operational formats: safety anti-trip, free moving and free moving maintained. More
Sunkist builds a better fruit packing machine
Posted by Lisa McTigue Pierce, April 16, 2012
The new system doubles the hourly output of fruit packing by feeding a layer of "flat fruit"—aka oval citrus fruit that doesn't roll as well as round fruit—into two boxes at a time instead of just one. More
Restricted Access Barrier Systems (RABS) & Isolators: The Perfect Combination of Robot System Safety and Aseptic Drug Manufacturing
Posted by Jack Mans, Plant Operations Editor, April 16, 2012
Industrial manufacturing of injectable drug products presents very different and difficult challenges when compared to other industrial manufacturing applications. The Pharmaceutical Industry has been implementing systems called Advanced Aseptic Processing (AAP) systems. Advanced Aseptic Processing systems utilize advanced forms of automation, robotics, machine vision, and Restricted Access Barrier Systems (RABS) and isolators. More
Wash-Down Capable Servo Motors
Jack Mans, April 12, 2012
New AM8800 stainless steel wash-down servo motors are implemented completely in a food-grade design. AM8000 series motors need only one motor cable instead of the usual two. AM8800 motors can be provided with a sealing air connection in order to prevent the formation of condensation inside the motor. They can also be equipped with a holding brake or a multi-turn encoder, depending on the application requirements. More
Precision vial filling
Jack Mans, Plant Operations Editor, April 9, 2012
Vetter Development Services USA Inc. has installed a first-of-its-kind vial filler that incorporates aseptic filling, stopper insertion and capping in a single system to produce pharmaceutical product for clinical trials. The operation includes disposable systems and a Restricted Access Barrier System (RABS) that greatly reduces the risk of contamination. More
Flexible Manufacturing Critical to US Innovation
Posted by Jack Mans, Plant Operations Editor, April 6, 2012
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Automation components reduce costs.
Jack Mans, April 5, 2012
Wächter Packautomatik replaced multi-vendor automation systems on its Tablomat equipment line with integrated components from Lenze-AC Tech including 9400 HighLine servo drives. More
Pneumatic solenoid valve cables/connectors
Edited by Lisa McTigue Pierce, April 4, 2012
The company's pneumatics line now includes high-quality connectors and cables designed for most popular pneumatic solenoid air valves and sensors. More
Shelf-mounted robot
John Kalkowski, April 1, 2012
The KR QUANTEC K shelf-mounted robot ultra weighs in at 270 kg, has a reach of 2900 mm and payload capacity of 120 kg ,and is said to be the world's strongest shelf-mounted robot. The new robots are about 12 percent lighter, making the new series significantly easier to mount on injection molding machines.With new drive technology and the new KR C4 controller, the QUANTEC K robots achieve 25 percent shorter unloading times.
KUKA Robotics Corp., 586-465-8855. www.kukarobotics.com
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X-ray inspection
Lisa McTigue Pierce, March 28, 2012
The new cost-competitive Eagle Pack 240 XE x-ray inspection system enables small and medium-sized enterprises to comply internationally with food inspection regulations and the safety guidelines. Its customized interface simplifies product set-up to facilitate changeovers, reduce downtime and increase flexibility with the product inspection process. More
Numatics Vacuum Products
Jack Mans, March 27, 2012
The Numatics vacuum product line provides customers with a comprehensive range of vacuum components for all types of markets and applications. The Numatics product range includes a large selection of vacuum generators (ejectors/venturis, electric vacuum pumps), suction cups, large area grippers, specialty grippers, mounting elements spring plungers, sensors/switches/regulators, filters, and various accessories. More
New scanner recognizes foods at checkout; may bag bar codes
Posted by John Kalkowski, March 26, 2012
New food-recognition technology developed by Toshiba can recognize foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables using technology to determine the type by utlizing pattern and color, writes Brazilian blogger Anton Steeman. It may eliminate the need for bar codes. More
Packaging line audit at Carlsberg Israel leads to 5% higher output
Posted by Lisa McTigue Pierce, March 22, 2012
Israel Beer Breweries (Carlsberg group) did an audit of its packaging line to help decide the best way to increase production output: invest in a new production line or upgrade the existing one. Recommended modifications resulted in a 5 percent boost in output. More
Amazon invests in robotic packing
Posted by Lisa McTigue Pierce, March 21, 2012
Amazon.com is buying warehouse-robotics company Kiva Systems for about $775 million in cash. The deal, expected to become final in the next three months, likely will bring more robotics to Amazon's warehouses, which rely on large numbers of employees to pack and ship an array of products sold on the company's website. More
PACKAGING BRIEFS Tuesday, March 20
Posted by Jenni Spinner, Senior Editor, March 20, 2012
People, news and events impacting the packaging industry. More