EU AUTOMATION

While we all know that it is what is on the inside that counts, we have to admit that the exterior plays a significant role as well. Packaging is of utmost importance in today’s commercial world, leading manufacturers to find the best solutions to respond to customers’ needs. The latest Industry 4.0 technologies allow producers to move a step further in digitalising their production and making customers feel more connected. Here, Neil Bellinger, head of EMEA at automation parts supplier EU Automation, discusses three main innovations in packaging automation that will help manufacturers stay competitive and optimise their production.

In recent years, Industry 4.0 has developed at a surprising rate and is predicted to reach $1 trillion by the early 2030, according to 4.0 Research. This technological advancement is the perfect opportunity for manufacturers in the packaging industry to speed up their digitalisation strategy and respond to customers’ requirements in an efficient way.

ROBOT PALLETISING

Palletising, which requires lifting heavy weights repetitively and is exhausting for human workers, can become more efficient using automation technologies. For example, collaborative robot arms can be easily programmed and redeployed depending on their tasks and can optimise the workflow especially during peak seasons. They are also cost-efficient, ensuring a fast ROI and requiring no additional costs for programming and dedicated work cells. This also means that manufacturers can implement multiple cobot arms alongside the palletising process to speed up their production and load multiple products.

Collaborative robot arms can be used for packaging applications in all major industries, from pharmaceutical to electronics or metalworking and they are also suitable for food and beverage. They can also manipulate delicate products — for example, Universal Robots’ UR10 can palletise small and fragile products such as eggs, though it has a payload of up to ten kilograms. The robot’s compact design, weighing 28.9 kilograms with a small footprint of 190 millimetres ensures a flexible packaging in industries where reliability and precision are paramount.

SMART PACKAGING

In the 2019 Clean Label report, world’s leading nutrition company Kerry Group, found out that customers are increasingly questioning label claims, with 49 per cent of those surveyed believing that there is not enough information on packaging to help them make informed decision about their lifestyle. In a supermarket, few customers would take the time to read labels carefully. Moreover, labels are sometimes teared or erased or simply incomplete. Smart packaging allows shoppers to engage deeper with their products using their own devices. This is where the IoT comes into play.

Smart products are assigned IDs that can help customers in different ways. For example, they can check whether the products have been stored at the right temperature using Near Field Communication (NFC) tags equipped with temperature sensors. NFC tags are passive devices which operate without a power supply of their own and depend on an active device to come into range before they are activated. This means the customers can simply tap their NFC enabled phones to the package and gather useful information.

Whiskey company Johnnie Walker is currently using NFC technology that allows customers to check whether the bottles have been tempered with and whether they are sealed properly. Similarly, customers can get ‘best before’ warnings, real time offers, or they can track the journey of their products across the entire supply chain using the data stored digitally.

FLEXIBLE MOTION CONTROL

Packaging does not only have to be interactive, it also has to keep up with customers’ requirements and tastes. The emphasis is no longer on mass production, but on mass customisation instead. For example, bottled water used to come as a single unit, but it can now be found in packs of six, twelve or even twenty bottles. Manufacturers may produce batches of six packs one day and twelve the other day. This means that packaging equipment needs to be programmed to switch quickly and often.

Motion control systems are designed to handle quick changeovers and add additional functions that provide a more flexible process. One of the strategies to achieve this is flexible programming, which means the ability to use different codes on the same controller. Smart machines can create set points that allow a single machine to run product one at a programmed speed and set features and run product two with different characteristics using distinct tools.

Yaskawa developed the Singular Control architecture that can control a mix of motion equipment, including six axis articulated robots This brings increased flexibility in packaging and reduces programming, which in turn makes switching operations faster. From increasing speed to making customers feel more in control of their choices, automation technology is constantly evolving in line with packaging trends. To make sure they respond to their customers’ needs, manufacturers need to keep up with innovative technology and digitalisation trends. At EU Automation, we help packaging companies stay competitive and enhance their production by supplying automation parts from all major manufacturers in the shortest time, to ensure they keep downtime to a minimum.

Sound Damped Steel (SDS) is a multi-award winning noise control company which was established by Les Thompson in 2003 with the main aim being to develop, manufacture and supply materials for industrial noise and vibration control applications.

SDS manufacture and supply highly damped materials, complete kits and components that have been specifically designed to solve a very wide range of noise and vibration control problems at competitive, low costs.

SDS utilises and draws upon over 30 years of experience in developing new and practical applications for the technology across an expansive range of projects to help both end users and leading noise and vibration control consultants solve their problems.

“SDS make steel which absorbs vibration making it sound like rubber. It is supplied to OEM manufacturers to make their chutes, hoppers and machine guards quieter, they also supply kits to retro-fit on existing noisy machinery. SDS also design and fabricate bespoke acoustic enclosures and absorbent wall panels. A speciality is gas pipelines which they have, in collaboration with the INVC.co.uk, designed creating a unique system of silencing noisy pipelines while retaining air flow around the pipe and giving easy access for inspection.” Added Les Thompson, Managing Director.

Gas, oil and other pipelines and their associated equipment such as valves, are renowned for generating high levels of noise that require a noise control solution to be applied. The current typical noise control measure that is used on pipelines, valves and other system components is the use of acoustic cladding, this however contains a multitude of drawbacks and additional associated problems.

To tackle this, SDS developed the Quiet Pipe Technology system which negates all the problems associated with current technology. How this works is instead of adapting conventional cladding techniques, the new system comprises interlocking acoustic close shields that convert the pipe itself into a silencer element to diminish noise.

Another service created by Les, is Soundeck. “As a Hi-Fi enthusiast I made some damping feet and a turntable mat for my record player, they worked so well that Soundeck.co.uk was launched to make these available to the public, they get excellent reviews and are sold world-wide.” Added Les.

In terms of recent developments, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption for many industries and affected every company differently. Seeing an increase in its services, Les remarked on how COVID-19 has affected SDS, stating, “We have benefited from lockdown as people at home through the day complained about noise from industrial sites, so we have been busy supplying noise control solutions. Also, with so much leisure time people have been listening to more music and upgrading their systems with Soundeck Hi Fi enhancing products so we have noticed increased sales as a result of this.”

T (+44) 191 259 0700 www.sounddampedsteel.com www.soundeck.bigcartel.com