At the PMMI Tech Talks workshop hosted by ICS Inex Inspection Systems in Clearwater, Florida, PMMI member companies learned valuable lessons in safety.

They also learned about another important trend—how to embed robotic functionality directly into their own machine designs rather than integrating third party robots and robot controllers.

ELAU applications engineer Matt DeLuca showed how an IEC 61131-3 compliant software library lets OEMs implement robotic control on the same PacDrive controller running the rest of a packaging machine. The library requires no prior knowledge of robot kinematics, otherwise a significant barrier to entering the robot market.

The library provides OEMs with yet another outlet for their mechanical engineering innovations. The resulting machines more closely resemble clusters of robot arms and servo collating belts than traditional cartoners and case packers.

This new breed of robotic machines recently hit the market, making changeovers as simple as swapping out end effectors, selecting a recipe that automatically changes lug spacing, and refilling the magazines. The scenario blurs the distinction between routine changeovers and total machine reconfiguration—redefining the meaning of flexibility.

It’s a trend that was documented in ARC Advisory Group’s recent analyst report, Integral Robotics Raises Agility and Flexibility of Packaging Machinery: Modular Design Techniques Facilitate the Integration of Robotics.

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