Perhaps no other industry segment has made as much progress toward realizing the benefits of automation as packaging machinery. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) serving this market are realizing increased profits from building machines to standards, eliminating expensive mechanical components and improving competitive position with flexible designs. Manufacturers of products that must be packaged find that the new flexible machines allow them to adapt production to the ever-changing requirements of their customers, while also boosting productivity.
There are two drivers of this revolution. Advances in servo motors and drives enable design of smaller, faster, flexible machines. Industry standards such as ISA88, Make2Pack and Connect-and-Pack reduce training requirements and let engineers connect various machines together, interface with a variety of human-machine interfaces and connect to enterprise database systems.
Automation World and its sister publication Packaging World have been leaders in covering these new technologies and applications. An essential part of this coverage is the annual Packaging Automation Forum—now in its third year. This year’s edition will be held May 20 at the Schaumburg Marriott, just down the road from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Once again, it features engineers sharing their experiences automating packaging machines and integrating them into the enterprise network. Ample opportunities for learning from other attendees are also provided.
A new benefit offered this year is a Make2Pack Workshop and Connect-and-Pack demo. Offered on the day preceding the Forum, May 19, from 1 until 5 p.m. the workshop teaches:
• How PackML and PackTags are implemented
• How OPC is configured to enable PackTags communication
• Documentation that aids implementation of the Connect-and-Pack guidelines
• Templates for simplifying the configuration of Connect-and-Pack.
Sign up at www.packworld.com/paf.
See you in Schaumburg.
