Think in modularity, mechatronics to design flexibility into your machines

The most innovative OEMs are fundamentally rethinking how they design machines, with reconfigurability being the ultimate goal.

Oem 545 Pro Pack Servo Drives 2

Change is a constant in the food, beverage, and consumer products industries as marketing departments seek new ways to entice customers and increase sales. The result is a proliferating number of SKUs, and an increased number of shorter production runs that reduce inventories. 

OEMs that make the machines that produce and package these goods are being challenged to engineer solutions that increase the flexibility, productivity, and profitability of their customers. Their arsenal runs the gamut of servos, integrated drives, more efficient gearing and other mechanical components, vision systems, robotics, powerful processors, control software, intuitive HMI, networks, and standards like PackML and the new PackSpec RFP template.  

But instead of focusing just on the newest technology, the most innovative OEMs are fundamentally rethinking how they design machines. Modularity and mechatronics are the building blocks for this new approach to engineering flexibility into machines. They also provide important tools for finding the right balance between too much flexibility and not enough.

Rethinking machine design
“Flexibility is really the domain of mechatronic design, which combines mechanical, electrical and control engineering,” says John Kowal, director of business development for B&R Industrial Automation Corporation. “One OEM, for example, was able to avoid robotics and significantly reduce the footprint of his machine simply by redesigning its mechanical system. Modularity also extends beyond the mechanical, such as cost-effective distributed intelligence, distributed motion, and ultra-high speed I/O.”

Mike Wagner, Rockwell Automation’s global segment leader for packaging, agrees. “Designing a flexible machine starts with mechanical design, so you can break it down into modules,” he says. “You need to think in a mechatronic fashion so that your machine is reconfigurable. That really changes the game. It becomes a different way to think.”

Wagner goes on to say that while everybody focuses on products of different sizes and shapes, “flexibility is also about finding ways to extend the lifecycle of a machine. That’s particularly important in emerging markets, which need to phase in automation. It requires a line solution rather than a machine solution.”

Adds Kowal, “Back in the 1990s, it was all about designing machines for servo control and reducing mechanical complexity. Next came robotic functionality. Today, the big opportunity is the convergence of all these functionalities, plus networked safety, condition and energy monitoring, autonomous maintenance, and vertical start-up capabilities in the control system that are accessible through the HMI.

All of this is being accomplished, Kowal says, with powerful software tools that make programming simpler and more consistent and modular. Add to these important new standards, such as TR88.00.02 (also known as OMAC PackML), OPC UA, and openSAFETY, all of which increase flexibility by simplifying line integration, operation, and data integration.

List: Digitalization Companies From PACK EXPO
Looking for CPG-focused digital transformation solutions? Download our editor-curated list from PACK EXPO featuring top companies offering warehouse management, ERP, digital twin, and MES software with supply chain visibility and analytics capabilities—all tailored specifically for CPG operations.
Download Now
List: Digitalization Companies From PACK EXPO