Packaging globally has gained importance from various aspects such as product aesthetics, environmental friendly, ease of handling and branding. Over the years, it has emerged as a leading industry in manufacturing. As per reports, we see packaging as the fifth largest sector in India’s economy with the sector growing at around 22% to 25% per annum. Packaging plays an important role in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, food and beverage among others. Moreover, rapidly changing consumer demands are leading to a paradigm shift in manufacturing landscape. This has increased pressure on machine builders (OEMs) to provide high performance, quality, flexible, scalable and adaptive machines and lines to packaging factories.
With innovation and next generation automation technologies, machine builders are gearing up to meet these ever-rising demands cost-effectively. It not only helps boosting market share but also in increasing production profitability. Adopting to flexible manufacturing practices becomes the only solution in order to excel and be profitable. In addition to flexibility, product quality too plays a vital role in product packaging. Flexible manufacturing aids in achieving higher product quality as well as helps in maintaining hygienic standards required especially with pharma and food industries.
B&R Industrial Automation is a preferred automation vendor for various packaging machine builders and factories. The company has collaborating with many of its machine builders globally enabling them to build next generation, flexible and adaptive packaging machines and lines.
With B&R’s industrial product transport technology, ACOPOStrak and SuperTrak packaging machine, builders are able to build an adaptive machine making flexible manufacturing, batch size one and mass customization a reality. These intelligent product transport systems are replacing conventional conveyors offering enormous advantages. ACOPOStrak is a revolution in adaptive manufacturing. The highly flexible transport system extends the economy of mass production down to batches of one. With ACOPOStrak machine, builder and factories are able to increase overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), boost return on investment (ROI) and shorten time to market (TTM). The unique design of ACOPOStrak delivers decisive technological advantages enabling producing small batches efficiently and benefiting from higher margins of personalized products.
Apart from mass customization, vision inspection systems help achieve higher product quality, reduce rejection and wastage. However, conventionally vision systems were standalone systems adding complexities and costs to the entire machine. Today, with the world’s first machine vision solution to be seamlessly incorporated in the automation system, B&R has taken integrated machine vision to a whole new level. These systems are seamlessly integrated with ACOPOStrak, SuperTrak, motion and controls on a single powerful open source Ethernet POWERLINK network.
Together with OPC UA and OPC UA over TSN, all B&R controller are able to achieve a vertical and horizontal connectivity enabling an IT/OT convergence. Thus, an integrated approach helps in achieving higher performance as well as reduced automation costs. Moreover, with these advanced automation solutions machine builders are able to offer factories IIoT and Industry 4.0 ready systems.
Together with virtualization, digital twin, predictive maintenance, open source connectivity, remote access and maintenance possibilities and web based intuitive GUI B&R is in pole position to prepare machines and lines for flexible manufacturing cost-effectively.
Perfection in automation also means B&R has put all of its knowledge and creativity into developing products that become trendsetting innovations. At B&R, this means offering its customers a complete automation solution that provides maximum flexibility and economic efficiency. However, it is not only technology and innovations which are game changers today. In addition to offering innovative technologies and solutions, it is also important to have strong collaboration for true success.