Page 37 - Food & Drink Magazine October 2019

PACKAGING EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS
Ecolean doubles filling capacity on new machine
ECOLEAN has more than doubled the capacity on its new EL1+ filling machine for chilled family-sized liquid food packages. According to Christian Olsson, director of filling lines at Ecolean, its new, simplified design allows increased production in the same footprint.
“We know that the industry continuously evolves and so should the efficiency of our equipment. Ecolean strives to make operations easier for our customers as well as keeping both the footprint and environmental impact light. The EL1+ and our recent machine upgrades support that commitment,” Olsson says.
The redesigned filling chamber includes four fillers instead of two, which increases capacity by up to 140 per cent; the machine can fill up to 7000 packs per hour.
It also features a redesigned outfeed, a new human-machine interface, and an Omron control system with a virtual master servo axis that Ecolean says improves machine performance and ease of operation.
Its fully automated cleaning system of the filling zone ensures the same level of hygiene at the start of every production cycle.
Craft breweries get mini can casepacker
FIBRE King has launched the world’s first mini can casepacker, targeted at the craft brewing industry.
CEO James Windsor says it is an off-the-shelf solution for craft breweries transitioning from manual to automated packaging.
Windsor says: “We’ve identified craft breweries as a growing industry and knew that we could develop equipment specific to their needs that would eliminate the need for manual packaging processes.
“Having had the opportunity to work with breweries such as Stone and Wood and Balter Brewing, we were able to understand the challenges within their production line and alter our machines to suit.”
The Little Packer, which Windsor describes as the first affordable, flexible, and compact can-specific case packer, can pack four- and six-pack clusters as well as loose cans if needed.
It can also run both 16- and 24-can cartons, and glue boxes with no full-time operator.
“The neat part is that the technology can be applied to other applications such as bottling. We have also had requests within the packaged food industry on how they can incorporate the Little Packer into their production line. The opportunities are endless, and we’ve only just scratched the surface,” says Windsor.
Leibinger offers no-fuss code printing
LEIBINGER, distributed in Australia by APPMA member Result Group, showcased its low-maintenance inkjet printers for coding and marking at FachPack 2019 in Nuremberg in September.
The printers use a fully automatic nozzle seal to hermetically seal the entire ink circuit in the printer, preventing air from penetrating and drying out the ink. This means the printer can be restarted immediately at any time, according to Alexander Deuchert, sales director for coding and marking at Leibinger.
“With printers from other manufacturers, customers often had the problem that they had to clean the printer for up to an hour before restarting production, for example after converting a line to a new product, before the first marking could be printed on the product. Since they started using Leibinger printers, this annoying step has been entirely eliminated.
“At the trade fair, we illustrated this decisive added value to interested parties very
effectively with a demo print
head. The ‘aha’ effect is always
amazing,” he says.
“We often discuss how we can
take on the customer’s or potential customer’s coding and marking challenges and make initial recommendations.”
For Deuchert: “Integrated solutions are required for efficient production in line with Industry 4.0 standards.”
Digital twins mean fewer errors
OEMS can benefit from a process called “virtual commissioning” to spot errors before equipment is produced, according to technology giant Siemens.
Virtual commissioning involves creating a “digital twin” of a machine before manufacturing; according to Milan Bawa, business development manager at Siemens, the goal of this is to achieve faster commissioning by reducing mechanical and software errors.
“The ideology behind this technology is that an OEM should be able to virtually test the prototype of their machine before starting the physical build,” says Bawa. “The digital twin can be created as early as the design stage of the project, and involves all aspects of the production line in a virtual environment.”
The Australian market can benefit from virtual commissioning, as local OEMs are often under pressure to compete against global manufacturers with lower labour costs, better exchange rates, and more bargaining power with suppliers, says Bawa.
“The technology of digital twin will change the playing field for all local and global manufacturers, by providing the value of being able to perform ‘what if’ scenarios prior to manufacturing.
“The simulation process allows OEMs to analyse why errors are occurring, eliminate the root cause of
the problem, and prevent unpredicted commissioning delays, therefore reducing their time to market,” he says.
www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au | October 2019 | Food&Drink business | 37