Controls & Machine Components

Defining skill standards for packaging technicians

Packaging machine users and builders need technical people with a mix of both mechanical and software skills. Trouble is, no one to date has defined what that skill set should be.

November 30, 2003

Controls & machine components: Page 247

Filling/capping, dry

Flow control technology facilitates faster filling

Mettler-Toledo offers a new flow control technology that it claims can increase both filling speed and accuracy for filling machinery manufacturers.

November 30, 2003

Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

Pleasant surprises from new liquid packaging servo

In initial applications of the first purpose-built liquid packaging servo motor/drive, packaging machine builder are discovering surprising new benefits.

November 30, 2003

Secondary Packaging

Bosch Rexroth Corp., Electric Drives and Controls: Bosch Rexroth Corp., Electric Drives and Controls: Machine generations explained

Bosch Rexroth Electric Drives and Controls Div. has come out with a new packaging-specific brochure that includes a graphical depiction of the three generations of servo-driven packaging machinery.

November 30, 2003

Conveying & accumulation

Oriental Motor USA: Economical AC gearmotors

Oriental Motor USA offers its economically priced preassembled BHF Series AC speed-control gearmotors intended for packaging applications such as conveyors.

November 30, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Phoenix Contact Inc: Fieldbus connectors for harsh environments

Variosub fieldbus plug connectors for applications in harsh environments are available from Phoenix Contact. The Variosub Family includes connectors for Interbus, Profibus, and CANopen systems.

November 30, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Rittal Corp.: Control cabinet air conditioners

Sleekly designed by Rittal Corp. with rugged components, TopTherm air conditioners are perfect for the most demanding industrial environments. Designed for cooling electronics in a control cabinet, the units are engineered to overcome problems created by dust and heat, the number-1 cause of electronics failure.

November 30, 2003

Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

Schneider Electric ELAU Packaging Solutions: Next-generation controllers

Elau PacDrive next-generation Gen3 controllers range from an economical unit to power a simple stand-alone machine to a 1-Hg unit for the most demanding applications.

November 30, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Festo Corporation: Miniaturized valve terminals

Smart Cubic valve terminals from Festo offer compact size, versatility, and high speed and flow rates to 150L/min with various functions and LED readouts.

November 30, 2003

Secondary Packaging

RJRT retrofits its future

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco modernizes case packers and robotic palletizers with updated controls.

November 30, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

More Plug-and-Pack at Pack Expo Las Vegas

Machine builders and packagers buy into the Plug-and-Pack vision of "best practices" automation guidelines for maximum business benefit.

November 30, 2003

Controls & Machine Components

Ink-jet coding goes wireless

Produce grower Mills, Inc., uses standard protocol 802.11b to wirelessly connect four large-character ink-jet printers to the PC that controls them.

November 30, 2003

Secondary Packaging

Technology redesign incorporates servos

Package Machinery Company’s new servo-driven FA-ST overwrapping machine is equipped with six servo drives, giving it added flexibility and fewer maintenance issues compared to the machine it replaced.

November 30, 2003