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Japan Pack—the search for perfection

Where better to go than Japan Pack to get a taste of the Japanese packaging machinery sector’s focus on the delivery of a perfect final product to the end consumer?

Tokyo Big Sight international exhibition center was the scene for this past October’s Japan Pack show.
Tokyo Big Sight international exhibition center was the scene for this past October’s Japan Pack show.

Japanese machinery builders and packaging converters drive packaging innovation right alongside the brand owner, oftentimes taking even more responsibility for the next new thing than the brand owners themselves. So it was no surprise to find prototypes and newly commercialized designs sharing the stage with a mass of shiny hardware at Japan Pack, which drew an audience of nearly 120,000 visitors over its four-day run at Big Sight international exhibition center on the shores of Tokyo Bay in October.

Japanese market expectations are acknowledged to be higher than anywhere else in the world, and local machinery producers go all out to raise the quality of the final product. Waste reduction, faster output speeds, space-saving machines, and increasingly automated systems are Japanese priorities. The ultimate goal of food manufacturers is to ensure contaminated product cannot reach the consumer. It’s why a secondary surveillance system for food packaging lines by Ishida, designed to ensure that all quality control measures are working optimally, has done well since coming on the market two years ago.

It was worth travelling half-way round the world to see what Japan is developing, including “world-firsts” in machinery processes, robotic technology newcomers in the automotive industry about to take their first steps into the packaging world, and advanced inspection systems available in Japan and Asia that won’t be seen outside the region for years to come.

On the other hand, some exhibitors were keen to boost export prospects for their proven technology. One example is Taisei Lamick—a specialist in liquid packaging machinery and films whose sales volume of around US$200 million makes it Japan’s seventh largest company in the flexibles sector. North American sales are valued at US$8 million.

Show visitors had first sight of new models in the Dangan range of high-speed f/f/s liquid and paste packaging machines that serve the hospitality and catering markets. The more compact, latest Generation G will run at up to 30 m/min and 500 pouches/min, and the output doubles in the first-ever Dangan twin version. In English the term “Dangan” means “bullet.” According to Masaharu Yamaguchi, managing director for Dangan overseas business, the Dangan twin version has a yield rate comparable to a multi-row type—commonly used in the U.S. and Europe—where 10 to 12 rows are in operation. He adds that the changeover time is much shorter than such a big multi-row type filling machine, and the machine has a compact footprint.

The Dangan G2 launched at Japan Pack produces double packs, or twin-packs, that can be filled simultaneously with things like shampoo, conditioner, mustard, or ketchup, for example. Initially Taisei Lamick intends to sell the G2 into Japan before expanding into the rest of the world. The double pack of four-side-sealed units has a total width of 100-300 mm with each individual unit 50-150 mm.

Yamaguchi asserts Dangan machines are not just fast, they also produce a better final product because the system continuously fills without stopping the liquid flow between each seal. This results in a full pouch with “almost no air” and more liquid inside compared to similar pouches by competing machines.

In April 2011 Taisei Lamick started American production in Illinois and six months later the company introduced the first Dangan G auto filler, successor to the Dangan III. Yamaguchi reckons Japanese sales have reached the 1,000 mark and around 40 machines are operating in the Americas, but there are none as yet in Europe.

The 2015 incarnation incorporates a newly developed cylinder for horizontal sealing for more reliable heat sealing. An assist roll has improved the stability and positional accuracy of the film feeding. The film roll is fixed by motor drive and has a center restoration function. There is a larger touch panel and settings for pouch guides. Also, roll positions are easier to adjust thanks to a new motorized switch-based system. Preventive measures against leakage from the film seams have been added, too.

Taisei Lamick also markets proprietary laminated film materials for liquid packaging and a recent development has led to a new style of 10- to 15-gram pack with a perforated “hold and tear” feature with benefits for the user. It allows the pouch to be held steady during opening and the contents to pour out smoothly to avoid messy fingers. The film can be two-layer or four-layer made up of polyester, nylon, alufoil, and polyethylene. Acclaimed for its universal design, the pouch has been adopted by Hong Kong McDonalds for condiment sauces produced by a Korean supplier, says Yamaguchi.

From automotive to packaging
Operational safety, product integrity, and accuracy in a high-speed manufacturing environment are concerns shared by packaging and car makers alike. Fanuc’s green collaborative robot, designed safe for human contact, was on the lookout for its first packaging sector customer. An “entirely new class of robot,” the CR-35iA entered the car-making industry mid-2015, says Kasuo Hariki, vice general manager of overseas sales division for Fanuc robots. The surface has a knobbly texture and gives just a little when finger pressure is lightly applied. The Fanuc FS-15iA force sensor and intelligent safety functions stop a robot instantly, at the moment of contact. This is the first of a “friendly” breed of robot that can be free to roam in the factory environment, says Hariki.

On the future of robotics in food processing and packaging, he says Fanuc is working on the capability to handle soft and spongy products such as raw food ingredients and also building in the sensitivity to deal with different shapes and sizes of products – fresh eggs, for example. Asked how long the market has to wait for the next even smarter generation of Fanuc robots, Hariki guessed around five years, and certainly ahead of its main rival, he added.

Robots fitted with weight sensing technology are already used in the automotive industry, and now automated packaging lines can benefit from this functionality thanks to developments coming out of Ishida. Shown at Japan Pack, the Ishida IMAS-G weight check sensor was awaiting its first food packaging customer. Aimed at making the pick-and-place process smarter, this all-Ishida innovation is compatible with robots made by major OEM robotics technology companies, says Kenji Nishizawa, assistant manager of overseas marketing at Ishida. At Japan Pack, the IMAS-G was integrated into a Mitsubishi robot in one case and in a CKD robotic application elsewhere. Exhibitor CKD showed the potential of the IMAS-G on a blister packaging machine in a demonstration unit where the Ishida weight checker was attached to CKD’s electrically driven actuator to provide motion control. The weight of a small rubber eraser was measured as it was picked up. If its weight was within the set range, it was transported into position and fed to the container; otherwise it went to the rejects bin.

In spring 2015 Ishida launched near infrared (NRI) technology for detecting poor seals—the kind of thing that might be caused by the presence of product in the sealing area, for example. At Japan Pack it was shown as part of a complete food packaging line under surveillance by an inspection and recording system developed for the food industry in a strategic relationship with a Hitachi subsidiary. Hitachi markets similar technology in other sectors under the brand-name Hitz.

Ishida Vision Inspection Technology (IVIS) checks to see that equipment used for avoiding and detecting contaminants, and ejecting deviant products, is functioning properly. Cameras capture human activity in the operating area and record the scene. X-ray detection and labelling machinery communicate with the recorder so serial numbers are read and any contamination can be traced. On the market two years, some 50 systems are operating in Japan, a country strenuously pursuing total food safety and zero packaging imperfections.

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