Looking Back at Pack: The First Days at the Show

Pack Expo 2024 was one of the largest trade shows in North America dedicated to solutions in the packaging industries, and those applications supporting the transporting, packaging, and processing of goods.

Control.com, refreshed with a newly revised website and unified branding, was lucky enough to meet with over two dozen companies to learn about some of the latest technology trends and bring relevance to some of the lofty claims and goals of this high-tech industry. Join us as we share a few of the insights and highlight the key technologies.

 

Emerson

 

It can be difficult for an engineer to settle on a starting point for a project when, in the modern world, innovation happens at every level from the field I/O to (often) the cloud for data handling. Do you start by replacing the field equipment to a series with a unified fieldbus or upgrade the controllers to units with built-in gateways? Should you start with implementing an edge or cloud data management system?

 

 

This is where Emerson’s Floor To Cloud approach can help engineers and project managers pick the most appropriate challenges to handle on the way to building a facility that can not only manage the day-to-day operations, but also gain insights into reducing losses in systems including water, air, gas, energy, and steam (abbreviated to WAGES). I asked about which level of this process exhibited some of the most challenging transitions, and Emerson’s answer is that the network and communication level is often the first hurdle to overcome in the way to IIoT integration.

 

Festo

 

The power of motion comes from two major sources: electrical current creating a magnetic field (electric motion) or the force of flowing air and hydraulic oils (fluid motion). Festo is a solidified leader in both fields, and Pack Expo was a great opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of the one of the newest products, the VTUX valve terminal.

 

 

The VTUX is designed for on-machine (or decentralized) installation with just power, air, and a fieldbus connection. The valve terminal can support positive or vacuum air supplies, and it supports electrical I/O connections, like the pneumatic position switches in the booth demonstration.

 

And those blue LEDs don’t look bad at all.

 

Universal Robots

 

No doubt, collaborative robots have aided the packaging industry in many ways over the past few years. Universal Robots was featured in numerous booth supporting applications including palletizing (that’s one of the most common tasks), box-forming, and sorting, like the picking and kitting FlexiBowl machine by ARS Automation, shown above.

 

 

The cobots from UR are found commonly working together to support an entire workflow, built around the UR+ ecosystem of vendors and integrators to provide the right solution for virtually any task.

 

Cognex

 

Computers keep getting more powerful, and therefore, the actions we can take with small circuits also keep improving. These computers have been placed inside cameras, and with ability, Cognex provides impressive demonstrations of inspection, identification, character recognition, and image processing using small, modular cameras.

 

 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is also a key player in most Cognex solutions. AI is, perhaps, an overused term at these trade shows, but it is exemplified in the area of vision systems be providing a much faster ‘training’ time for vision projects and a more accurate output by leveraging algorithms that are far more capable than the traditional image processing technology: simply providing percent matches compared against a library of captured images.

 

SICK

 

Sensor Intelligence isn’t just a catchy slogan for SICK, it provides a common theme for understanding the product lines from both the field I/O and the communication and networking level. The concept of ‘smart’ sensors includes both of these levels, but also the concept of making it simpler, easier, and more effective to use.

 

 

SICK highlighted the latest vision systems and object recognition technology with the Inspector series, and the vast array of sensing, signalling, and IO-Link networking products available for nearly any solution across the packaging industry.

 

Murrelektronik

 

Effective communication across all devices for a modular equipment setup. That’s the ideal (although often difficult) task of so many machine builders these days, and Murrelektronik demonstrated just such a system. The workcell contained conveyor motion, sensing, robotics, safety, power, and control, all with rugged, on-machine devices that can withstand harsh environments, but be interconnected with just a simple set of cables.

 

 

By relying on protocols like Ethernet, IO-Link, EtherCAT, and more, the commissioning process is as simple as bolting the equipment to floor, connecting the power and signal cables, and turning on the machine.

 

Maxon Parvalux

 

Modular. Have you heard that word enough? Get ready to hear it again. The whole idea of modularity is that one small range of products can’t possibly be the right fit for every single machine and application in every future design.

 

 

The Parvalux brand of Maxon Motors focuses on industrial applications of brushless and brushed gearmotors. As you may have guessed, this approach is very modular, not only within the type of motor itself, but also in the gear drive units and the drivers. Gear ratios, voltages, network protocols, sizes… The sheer number of design variables leads to a massive comprehensive catalog of individual products.

 

Across everything at Pack Expo, the common theme is providing customized service and products to fit every possible need. It’s a pretty lofty goal, but considering the range of over 2,600 exhibitors, there is a device or a machine to fit virtually every need in the world of packaging automation.