Controls & Machine Components

Q&A: Desperately seeking 'plug-and-pack'

An interview with Andrew McDonald, global automation and control manager for Unilever, maker of food and personal care brands such as Dove®, Suave®, Vaseline®, Lipton®, Skippy® and SlimFast®. McDonald is also the chief architect of an industry-wide “state model,” a term used to describe whether a packaging machine is running, down, on standby, etc.

May 31, 2002

Controls & Machine Components: Page 278

Cartoning

Double vision for pizza improves

On three frozen pizza lines, Frozen Specialties upgrades to six Ethernet-linked machine-vision systems to check for damaged pizzas and unsealed carton flaps. See in-plant video

May 31, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

Don't read this section!

Unless you want to unlock packaging line efficiency.

May 31, 2002

Flexible packaging

New coex line broadens food pack offerings

Coextruded blown film is new to Enhance Packaging Technologies. ‘Pancake’ die technology gives maximum flexibility.

April 30, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

Schmalbach-Lubec: Hot-fill PET design literature

Schmalbach-Lubeca (Manchester, MI) has developed new literature that graphically depicts a new series of “panel-less” concepts in single-serve hot-fill PET bottles.

March 31, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

The packaging supply chain--what's next?

A new collaborative mentality fortified by the latest IT tools is reshaping the packaging supply chain.

March 31, 2002

Flexible packaging

Avail's upgrades up close

What did Avail Medical get for its $180ꯠ investment—comprising all costs including shipping—in its most recent machine improvements for a vertical form/fill/seal machine? In short, plenty.

March 31, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

Electro Cam Corporation: PLS simplifies PLC setup

Electro Cam (Roscoe, IL) has introduced a PL-1746-C02/C03-R1-S Plug-in Module for Allen-Bradley PLCs that has the ability to turn on outputs based on a product-present input signal from sensors such as photocells or proximity switches.

February 28, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

SICK, Inc: Safety light curtain

C4000 is a safety light curtain with a self-contained, noncontact control that combines high resolution with a small size. From Sick (Minneapolis, MN), it features a small-profile cross section with protective heights ranging from 300 mm to 1꼀 mm (1’ to 6’).

February 28, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

Pepperl + Fuchs: Ergonomic buttons

Pepperl+Fuchs (Twinsburg, OH) palm buttons are an ergonomic alternative to mechanical push buttons. A slight touch activates the button, helping to reduce repetitive motion injuries.

February 28, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

Phoenix Contact Inc: Safety relays

A line of devices that helps provide safety in packaging machinery is available from Phoenix Contact (Harrisburg, PA). The PSR safety relays are used in emergency stop circuits, safety door applications, and two-handed control systems.

February 28, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

Rockwell Automation: Portable, wireless HMIs

The Allen-Bradley MobileView portable, wireless human-machine interface (HMI) devices from Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee, WI) can be used while moving around a machine, down a production line, or throughout an entire plant for greater worker and plant productivity.

February 28, 2002

Controls & Machine Components

Sunx Sensors: Safety light curtain

The SF2-EH safety light curtain from Sunx Sensors, a div. of Ramco Innovations, (West Des Moines, IA) conforms to IEC 61496-1/2 international standards and is compatible with equipment conforming to OSHA, ANSI, and ANSI/RIA 15.06 regulations.

February 28, 2002