INNOVATIONS REPORT MACHINERY
RX 4.0 Thermoformer MULTIVAC used PACK EXPO Connects to feature its new RX 4.0 next-generation thermoform packaging machines (14). Part of the X-Line packaging technology is a process that assists in the digitalization of configuration and performance according to Industry 4.0/IoT standards. Seamless digitalization, comprehensive sensor systems, and networking with the MULTIVAC Cloud can significantly improve packaging reliability, quality, and performance. MULTIVAC Smart Services offers packages that contribute to a deeper understanding of packaging machine performance, providing data that can be used to further optimize packaging procedures and make them even more efficient. See MULTIVAC’S PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/180.
During a live demo at PACK EXPO Connects, Intralox discussed the flexibility and efficiency of its Activated Roller Belt (ARB). According to Paul Neuschwander, Global Advisor for the Intralox packer to palletizer team for beverages, the team combines the best ideas and layouts from around the world and uses this information to reduce project risk and timelines, and create better plant floor layout designs. This knowledge, along with ARB technology, allows Intralox to combine multiple pieces of equipment into one piece of machinery, providing space saving on the plant floor, while often reducing capital expenditure. Intralox Packer to Palletizer ARB technology lets end users reduce the number of conveyors needed, shortening installation time and reducing labor. In fact, Neuschwander said one end user was able to double its filling capacity after installing an ARB solution. View Intralox’s PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/175. Offering six times faster changeover, Piab’s Changeover Champion vacuum conveyor piFLOW®p SMART enables users to save time when changing from one material to another, increasing the productivity of their operations. The new technology made its debut during PACK EXPO Connects. According to the company, a changeover that would take one hour in a conventional vacuum conveyor takes only 46
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10 minutes in the company’s new vacuum conveyor. The piFLOW®p SMART is a self-optimizing vacuum conveyor targeted primarily at industries handling many different materials and/or those in which frequent changes need to be made. With each new conveying cycle, the piFLOW®p SMART uses machine learning to automatically tune the process by configuring and optimizing a flawless flow of materials, set at the correct rate. “After just a few cycles, piFLOW®p SMART has figured out what type of material it is dealing with and will automatically adjust itself to optimize how the material is conveyed. There is no longer a need for operators to re-adjust settings between different batches of materials. piFLOW®p SMART will do it for you with higher accuracy than even the most experienced operator can deliver,” explained Milan Bratt, Product Manager Vacuum Conveying. See Piab’s PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom at PE.show/206. Septimatech featured its new enhanced MultiLane Guide Adjust System (15), which eliminates change parts, lane spacers, and heavy lifting equipment that cause unnecessary downtime, ergonomic risks, and expense. With this system, one person can adjust a 30-ft section of case packer accumulation lane dividers and lane guides simultaneously from one location in seconds. That’s a job that would typically take two people 35-50 minutes to do. The Multi-Lane Guide Adjust system creates up to seven lanes with a minimal width of 1.5 in. Adjustments are repeatable and accurate up to ±1 mm with no fine-tuning required. The system can be installed on existing support systems and dividers. A large CPG company with nine changeovers per month noted that the ergonomic risk is essentially eliminated with the Multi-Lane Adjust system, with no chance of operator injury, according to Mike Carey, Septimatech Account Manager for Eastern Canada and North Central U.S. The operator makes the adjustment from a single standing location in front of a chest-high wheel adjustor, requiring no ladders or heavy, awkward
| February 2021 | www.profoodworld.com
2/3/21 8:57 AM