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Packaging machinery industry today
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Tuesday, 17 August, 2010, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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By Prof C S Purushothaman
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Packaging machine is an equipment or series of equipment used to pack and seal a product in a container. Thus packaging machinery facilitates in packaging a product so as to contain, protect and preserve it.
The origins and ideas behind packaging machinery are complex. When going back in history one hundred years, did we need it? You had the man in the local grocery store who would do all that sort of things. He weighed your meat, your rice, your fruit and vegetables and then he wrapped them all for you in paper.
Over the period of time as goods and customers expanded, trying to keep up demand for all this was a nightmare. How did things change so much in the last one hundred years and who, exactly, called for this change? It is the industrial growth resulting in the expansion of the market and goods to satisfy the customer demands.
The importance of packaging machines
The packaging operation consists of various operations like, forming, filling, sealing, coding, collating etc. Hence, packaging companies often utilise more than one packaging machine, since one device simply cannot handle the different packing methods required by the various products on the market. A machine can create several types of packages, spanning products from different industries. With several machines working simultaneously, the company can cater to multiple clients at once. The machines are highly efficient, producing dozens of packages in minutes. This way the company can earn sizable profits each month, paving the way for even more machines, which speed up the production process.
How do packaging machines work?
Operating a packaging machine is as easy as reading the user’s manual. Once you get familiarised with its functions, you can place the raw materials in their slots, tweak the settings, and in a few minutes, you’ll produce a huge number of packages. The more advanced the machine, the easier it is to operate. Like new electronic gadgets, machine developers improve the user-friendliness of their models for faster production, and more importantly, to boost sales.
Types pf packaging machinery
A choice of packaging machinery includes technical capabilities, labour requirements, worker safety, maintainability, serviceability, reliability, ability to integrate into the packaging line, capital cost, floorspace, flexibility (change-over, materials, etc.), energy usage, quality of outgoing packages, qualifications (for food, phamaceuticals, etc.), throughput, efficiency, productivity, ergonomics, etc.
Earlier, a single machine was used to produce a certain package. Over the years, after a succession of technological advancements, some machines could create several types of packages, catering to different industries. The machines were, of course, more expensive, but the benefits that they provided were overwhelming. Ideally, for a packaging company owner, investing in more than one device was the way to go.
Packaging machines may be of the following general types:
● Blister, Skin and Vacuum Packaging Machines
● Capping, Over-Capping, Lidding, Closing, Seaming and Sealing Machines
● Cartoning machines
● Case and Tray Forming, Packing, Unpacking, Closing and Sealing Machines
● Check weighing machines
● Cleaning, Sterilizing, Cooling and Drying Machines
● Conveying, Accumulating and Related Machines
● Feeding, Orienting, Placing and Related Machines
● Filling Machines: handling liquid and powdered products
● Package Filling and Closing Machines
● Form, Fill and Seal Machines
● Inspecting, Detecting and Checkweighing Machines
● Palletizing, Depalletizing, Pallet Unitizing and Related Machines
● Product Identification: labelling, marking, etc.
● Wrapping Machines
● Converting Machines
● Other speciality machinery
Different types of items can also be processed through packaging machinery. This includes everything from liquid to powder to bulk packaging. There are also different types of packaging that can be used, with everything from bags to bottles. Closing methods that are used on the machinery include everything from corks to tape. Several companies will offer creative varieties to use in order to package whatever is needed.
Within packaging machinery are different types of timing mechanisms that could be used to determine how fast the machinery will package the material. Most machines have the option of manual, semi-automatic or automatic operations. They are usually classified by how many packages they can fill or seal per minute.
Role of automation in packaging machinery
By definition, an automatic device is one in which through the automatic or remote control method one is able to complete the task of a machine. In packaging industry, automation is changing the way of the packaging process and packaging of container movements and materials processing methods. Automatic control of the packaging system can greatly improve production efficiency and product quality, significant elimination of packaging and printing processes and as a result the ones created by labelling errors, effectively reducing the labour intensity and reduce energy and resource consumption.
Design and installation of automatic packaging systems, in terms of improving product quality and production efficiency, or for elimination of processing errors and reduce labour intensity, have shown a very significant role. Particularly for food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, electronics and other industries, this is essential.
Yet another aspect in automation is the Robotics. This has changed the way man-machine co-exists. Some of the robotics are devices like mechanical hands or robots, wherein the choice depends on the needs and characteristics of the process. It can be simple, for example, move from one location to another location of the structure of a single-axis pneumatic pressure linkage device; it can be complex, for example, has a six-axis structure of the dynamic surgical robots.
Product /packaging relation has a direct impact on the structural design of automation devices and materials needed to deal within the form of delivery. Product / packaging structure, size, shape, material and weight will determine the structure of manipulator tip design and automatic payload needs.
Shape features with complex structural design of packages, such as the oval-shaped containers are more difficult than the standard round or square pieces of packaging because of orientation. During filling of packs the mechanical hand end automation devices generally provide a process that can seize a sufficient volume of product at one-time for filling. In this way, the automatic operation of the mobile devices to minimise the distance and maintain the product conveyor or production lines continuously moving.
The main driving force for packaging automation is the total production throughput. The production line speed not only affects the processing of products but also automated device for visual inspection and labelling operations. In order to achieve an effective visual detection technology, must be shown a number of related issues.
Present scenario
Today, the packaging machinery industry faces a unique set of challenges that stretches its engineering capabilities to the limits.
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