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Inconsistent and inefficient machine performance prevents facilities from working at a high level of output. Diagnosing the problem can take a while, which costs companies time and money even with a reliable supply of functional spare parts. When we face these problems, we realize that the most important element of plant capacity and operational reliability are appropriate maintenance and efficient spare parts management. Unfortunately many organizations operate without implementing fundamental aspects of spare parts management at their site as the importance of spare parts and timely maintenance is still mostly overlooked. If you want to make a difference in the operational reliability, make sure to pay special attention to effective spare parts management and planned maintenance. We know that making a shift from reactive to predictive operating strategy isn’t always easy. Seting up new set of rules, procedures and standards in order to prevent problems before they arise is quite an endeavor. Sadly, not all companies have the infrastructure for this kind of change, so they keep fixing problems when they happen. This is why these companies turn to maintenance kits. If you strive to cut costs, you should know that it is a more economic option to do machine maintenance once a year, than replacing one part after another as they wear out. With maintenance kits, you just have to plan for timely maintenance, and perform the required steps according to your maintenance plan. Well planed machine maintenance and maintenance kits save your money in several ways:
Looking up part numbers in the manual in order to get quotes also takes time and during that time, revenue opportunities are lost for your company. So if you are tired of trying to chase down problems on your machines, you might want to consider a machine maintenance kit. Tishma Technologies’ Maintenance Kits provide all the parts you will need to replace during machine maintenance. This means minimal downtime to complete the rebuild and greater performance! As already stated, maintenance kits are also a more economic option than buying all of the parts individually.
Contact us to see if we can provide maintenance kits for your machines.
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For companies trying to effectively control operating costs, stocking assets like spare parts may seem counterintuitive. This is one of the reasons why most companies are reluctant to maintain a comprehensive spare part inventory. Eventually, plant managers are the ones carrying burden of identifying ways to reduce cost while maintaining the performance and efficiency of plant operations. However, practical spare part management is the foundation for a reliable packaging operation. A plant manager’s success may depend on it. Good plant manager has the task of determining which spare parts are needed in order to build an effective and comprehensive inventory system. Instead of relying on perception to determine what’s needed he needs to establish a strategic method that will adequately manage the movement and storage of your inventory instead. There are several factors you should take into consideration when developing or reviewing your parts management system. Operating strategy, inventory control and lead times, are a just some of them. So if you want to minimize performance disruptions, promote efficiency, and reduce carrying cost - take these factors into account. Just follow these guidelines and rest assured that your cartoners, case packers, and other equipment is working properly. Operating Strategy Do you prefer a predictive or reactive position? Before answering, keep in mind that building a reactive management strategy is the trap most companies fall into. To successfully manage parts inventory, you should adopt a predictive strategy. Reactive management can work in a crisis, but the essence of successful management is to prevent problems before they arise. Predictive management is all about looking at the entire scope of the operation and locating and solving important underlying problems that may surface in the long run. So, look out for patterns of failure that can reveal problems that are not clearly visible. Predictive management cuts the time and cost associated with fixing issues and make better use of resources. Inventory Control It is unrealistic to stock large quantities of various parts and your spare parts inventory does not have to be extensive to be effective. Just develop clear criteria that will help define and categorize spares in order to achieve better control over inventory. Using categories such as “critical” spares can help you to prioritize your inventory. A part can be labeled as critical to the operation or critical to specific machine function. Depending on its risk and impact if a failure should occur, a higher priority may be given to one designation over another. Classification of a part will change over time, based on replacements/substitutes that may become available, so you need to periodically review all spare parts classifications (i.e. critical and non-critical). A regular review of spares for excess stock can help to reduce cost too. Store and organize spares in a designated, secure space. Remember, if a part is taken without a record, prompting for reorder will not take place. On the other hand, if new stock is placed on the shelf without a record, you cannot count on it. Analyze your storage and check-out system and reveal reasons for stock inaccuracies. Lead Times If you want to build a successful stock program, you must gain understanding of spare part lead times. Part lead time is important when deciding which parts to stock. If downtime doesn’t concern you too much, parts that can be acquired quickly and easily can be left out of a stocking plan. However, usually the loss of production time means a significant financial loss for your operation and even a day or two without a part can be too long. Parts with long lead times are being custom made after the order and do not carry expediting options. That is why you should keep parts with long lead times on hand. Off-brand components that can be acquired more quickly may seem as a viable alternative during a crisis. Don’t forget that for certain equipment, these substitute/alternative parts could cause further damage to your equipment or system. We hope that these tips will help you to increase your efficiencies and improveyour spare parts management. Start making better use of your resources and cutting the time and cost associated with fixing issues. Get your spare parts on time. We are here for you.
We are glad to announce that our sister company, Nortech Packaging, is going to exhibit at this year’s WestPack show that will take place in Anaheim, CA, from 6th to 8th of February. We are companies devoted to innovations and are always glad to introduce our latest accomplishments in the field of packaging equipment. You will have the opportunity to learn more about the utilization of robotics in the packaging industry, but that’s just the beginning. This year we are bringing a special guest: The ROO – 100– the world’s new champion in flexible packaging! We are convinced that this pre-made pouch fill & seal machine will attract a lot of attention, for several reasons: It decreases downtime and increases efficiency, but most importantly; it is very competitively priced and it utilizes a minimum of floor space. For some pouch machines changeover can take hours. With the ROO-100 changing between pouch sizes takes only 30 seconds! Besides that, the ROO-100 is the smallest pouch machine on the market and also the most affordable pouch packaging solution. It can be built and integrated with variety of options and systems depending on your specific needs. We invested our knowledge, expertise and years of packaging machine manufacturing experience to build this solution and solve the three most important issues in packaging industry: time, money and space. With outdated packaging equipment, every second of downtime and every inch of wasted floor space cost our clients money. Our solution puts an end to that and we are coming to West Pack to show it. So, whether you represent a large company, or you are a small start-up manufacturer, visit us at our booth number 5266 and let’s increase your efficiency!
It is usual among many product manufacturers to ask for multiple quotes when they are planning a purchase of a new cartoner, tray packer or any piece of packaging equipment. This is done in order to compare and review packaging equipment manufacturers and evaluate each proposal. It is also usual for most potential clients to almost immediately flip to the price. In most cases, the price alone can be a deal-breaker, without taking into the account the information on the other pages. However, basing a purchasing decision solely on price can eventually cost you more than you think. It’s more than just numbers So, you got the quotes, what is the next step? When it comes to price, you should investigate deeper. What is really included in that number and what is not? To eliminate any unanticipated surprises after the purchase and to determine the best value for your needs, we recommend doing an “apples-to-apples” comparison. This is the way to avoid changes in orders, delays, and additional costs. Each manufacturer has different company protocols and different interpretations of what is being requested. Therefore the prices vary. There are three common ways packaging machines are quoted:
Devil is in the Details
Once you have a vendor comparison matrix, the next step is to research deeper to understand what is included in each of the numbers. Lack of detail can stall the purchasing process, and it can cause confusion in the future, especially if it’s not clear what is and was not included in the final number. Look for these critical elements in a quote when you compare packaging equipment manufacturers:
So, if you are in the search for the best packaging machine manufacturer, don’t forget to get a quote from us. We are certain that Tishma Technologies will be your final choice. Gorgeous packaging is a temptation for us all; in the end, that is why we decided to develop packaging solutions. As stated many times before: packaging is the first impression your products make, and that is why it is so important. With the rapid emerging of new brands of organic products, we prepared 7 tips that will help you choose packaging for your skin care products. Packaging: It Matters More Than You Think There are a lot of things that you must consider when you choose packaging for your natural and organic skin care line. The packaging must visually reflect your values, your commitments and your brand. If being green is important for you and your brand, you need an eco-friendly packaging and a packaging solution that is up for the task. Brand Promise: The book is judged by its covers Sometimes you open a package and realize that the product isn’t up to your expectations and the packaging’s promise? Other times you don’t want to buy a product due to an unattractive packaging and then you discover that the products are amazing. This is why we advise you to answer these 4 questions when choosing your brand expression on packaging:
Farmer’s Markets, festivals, spas, salons, e-commerce, traditional retail… Where will you be selling your product? Whatever you chose, keep in mind that the packaging should match the buying environment. Secondly, you should take into account how you will transport your products. If you intend to sell your product through retail, think about shelf-ready packaging solution. If you plan to ship larger amounts of product to your distributers, read more about case packers and palletizers. Pricing: It’s More Than Just the Cost of a Container So, private label manufacturing is new to you? Prepare to learn how to include costs for filling and labeling and also the shipping fees in your packaging cost. Let’s say that you fell in love with a 4-ounce hexagon glass jar with a silver twist top. Classy, fun, and above all, it is within your budget of less than a dollar for the entire container. Now you need to know the cost of the packaging equipment for this packaging format. If your packaging equipment manufacturer can’t easily handle this type of jar, you might get charged more than you might for a packaging solution for different format. If you plan to ship this product across the country, the shipping cost will probably be higher than what the cost would be for a light-weight plastic jar. We don’t say you should give up on the hexagon glass jar; just need make sure that your end price allows you to make money without going beyond your brand’s price point. The Lid: Make or brake the experience If something can make or break the product experience, it is the lid. If you’re selling a liquid product, like a facial toner, you need to put it in a bottle with a spray pump or a disc cap to make it easier for the customer to use and to avoid spilling out. Container lid types include:
Packaging format: Convenience and costs Tubes are just perfect for some products and cylindrical bottles with treatment pumps are convenient for others. Besides finding a way for the customer to enjoy your product in the best manner, you must think about how costly it will be to pack. Before you pay for expensive product designs, it’s important to choose the container parts—container, lid, liner, brush and the packaging solution. If a manufacturer has to develop a packaging solution for you from scratch, it will cost more. Some manufacturers rely on modular design. They can make you a solution from existing modules, so it will cost you less. Be cautious with refurbished equipment Be very cautious if you consider buying a second hand or refurbished packaging machine. It can cost less initially, but there is a risk from hidden costs. The machine you purchased can turn out to be inefficient and unreliable. There is also a question of spare parts and service. Are they available? Can you acquire them easily? Don’t forget about safety standards that are constantly rising. Can a refurbished machine meet them? There is also a risk of unpleasant surprises like expensive modification of a machine in order to make it work for you. Finally, warranties on used machines don’t usually cover all the important components, that is, if there even is any warranty. Read more about new and refurbished packaging equipment. Labeling Labeling can be critical for natural and organic cosmetic products. You want the label to match your brand and your distribution channels while remaining compliant with FDA Labeling Guidelines. A good label has to describe the product and specify its contents, identify the product or brand, show the grading of product, help in promotion of products and provide information required by Law. Read more about proper labeling. Instead of a conclusion It’s good to do some focus groups with your product using the hand-filled versions of your product packaging ideas. This will provide you with good feedback about usability, value vs. perceived value, and whether or not your customers will fall in love with your entire product. Once you choose a primary packaging, the rest is easy. Check out our cartoners, case and tray packers and palletizers for full end-of-the-line packaging solutions. One thing is crucial for longevity and performance of cartoners, case and tray packers and other packaging equipment – maintenance. Good maintenance is one way to minimize downtime and keep the costs low. What is the winning formula? The right maintenance plan, good inventory of spare parts, and timely upgrades combined with manufacturer’s support! This leads to reducing downtime, keeping the costs low, lengthening the service life of your equipment, and maximizing profits. These benefits can be accomplished even by companies with minimal dedicated maintenance staff. All you need to do is to implement proper maintenance practices. 1. Preventive Maintenance Plan If you aim for a long packaging machine lifespan, preventive maintenance is the number one strategy. Like a car, a cartoner needs periodic and regular maintenance to for optimal production. The most important thing after installation of a packaging machine is formulating and sticking to a preventive maintenance schedule. Timed activities, like lubricating machinery or checking and replacing wear components are there to prevent issues before they even occur. Planning downtime and necessary materials instead of being caught off guard when a problem occurs is what preventative maintenance is all about. To conclude, the main purpose of a preventive maintenance plan is preventing minor problems and major disasters in order to decrease unscheduled downtime. Examples of preventive maintenance tasks include:
2. Autonomous Maintenance Tasks Combine in-depth assignments associated with a Preventive Maintenance Plan with easier, task-based activities. Trained machine operators are carrying out these tasks at regular intervals. This is all done with the help of a checklist. Operators perform small maintenance tasks on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and biannual intervals. Basic cleaning and inspection routines are usually focus of these tasks. The main idea is that the operators will become familiar with the machine through repeated maintenance tasks. This way they can notice when something is wrong before a scheduled manufacturer’s technician visit. Your machine operators should become experts about their machinery because this way they are your first line of defense. An operator should learn to detect unusual noise, speed, undesirable motion and other signals that something is wrong. 3. A Responsive Packaging Machine Manufacturer When your cartoner or any other packaging machine is down, every second counts. Talk with your packaging machine manufacturer and discuss the details of technical service availability, methods of contact, and related costs. A reliable packaging machine manufacturer will introduce you to a person who will answer your calls or emails. More importantly, this manufacturer should have remote capabilities to access and troubleshoot problems without unnecessary and expensive onsite visits. Good support includes mechanical and electrical support, but also emergency service when equipment is down, emergency spare parts and training. 4. Spare Parts List Your manufacturer should give you a recommended spare parts after providing you with a cartoner, case packer or palletizer, This list should be divided into part class by wear, for example high wear, medium wear and low wear parts. High wear parts have the shortest lifecycle. Medium wear parts have a longer lifecycle and may or may not ever fail. Low wear parts should never fail. Keep high wear parts in stock. Don’t want to wait for a part to be fabricated or shipped when your machine is down. Every minute your machine is down during production hours is money wasted. Ask the manufacturer of your equipment to give you a list of components that are necessary to keep on hand. The best manufacturers often maintain strategic inventories of recommended spare parts to support both planned and emergency component replacement needs. 5. Plan for Upgrades and Obsolescence Cartoners, case & tray packers, palletizers and their operating software require upgrades. When a certain machine or component is made obsolete and is no longer supported it requires replacement. Packaging equipment is not excluded from today’s fast paced technology development. Learn about necessary and recommended equipment upgrades through regular communication with you packaging machine manufacturer. If your particular piece of equipment is being phased out, make sure you will receive a notification. Make a plan for upgrade or replacement of your machinery, components, or software that will minimize downtime. This planning can be supported by your chosen manufacturer and it should be an integral part of your annual maintenance planning. Good manufacturers continually improve and update their machinery, and they also regularly address the obsolescence issues. The Bottom Line Don't be taken by surprise when it comes to packaging machine maintenance. These strategies provide the reliability, performance, and efficiency of your cartoners, case packers, tray packers and palletizers. Your packaging machine manufacturer is your most important partner. Choose Tishma Technologies, and rest assured that all your equipment will serve you for decades. Have you ever wondered how much of the electricity you pay for each month is actually used to power your cartoners, palletizers, case packers and other industrial and packaging lines? Believe it or not, it could be less than half! Great deal of energy is actually wasted because of the majority of energy leaking through air compressors, outdated equipment and other energy hogs. Discouraging, yet true: Our country wastes more power than any other, including China. In 2013, USA had an energy efficiency of just 42 percent, which means that 58 percent of all the energy we produce is wasted. We at Tishma Technologies are devoted to efficiency, but we are also aware that a good packaging line is just a starting point in increasing efficiency through power savings. We have prepared six ways to reduce industrial energy costs on your production floor in order to make your manufacturing facility and packaging line less expensive to run and more energy efficient. 1. Develop an Energy Management Team Often it’s not clear whose responsibility it is to manage power saving activities and that is why most energy and cost-saving initiatives fail. To avoid this, you need to develop a power management team formed from representatives of each department. Make sure to choose those who already have an incentive to keep expenses low. You can also introduce a bonus that is given to the team that saves the largest amount of energy. This way, your employees will work together to monitor energy usage in the facility and find ways to reduce waste. 2. Strategically Schedule Packaging and Manufacturing Machinery Use Which packaging machinery uses the most energy to run? When you discover which one it is, schedule operation of this machine outside of peak hours. Peak hours may be responsible for up to 30 percent of a manufacturing facilities monthly utility bill. 3. Schedule Shut-Downs and Start-Ups Try to lower industrial energy cost by scheduling shut downs. During these shutdowns all machinery should be powered off for a length of time (during the weekend or off-shift periods). Before making a shutdown schedule, you’ll need an insight into peak operational hours. This way you can decide what is the best time for the shut down. Production floors should also try to stagger manufacturing and packaging equipment start-up since powering up all machinery at once creates a large spike in your facilities energy demand. 4. Optimize Air Compressors Huge amounts of energy consumption and waste are caused by industrial air compressors. Poor design? Improper maintenance? Whatever it is, air compressors account for up to $3.2 billion in wasted energy per year. Just one leak can cost your business $500 annually, or even more. In case of multiple leaks, your air compressors are practically sucking money right out of your operations budget. 5. Optimize your HVAC System HVAC systems are used for maintaining air quality and comfort on a production floor. They also consume almost 52 percent of total energy used in a building. How to make your HVAC system more efficient? Try installing a programmable thermostat (which can reduce consumption by as much as 15 percent). Another way is to invest in a demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) system, which regulates outdoor air intake based on a facility’s concentration of carbon dioxide due to the number of staff inside. Even the simple repair and insulation of ducting are enough to reduce HVAC energy consumption by 30-percent. 6. Lighting: Energy efficient lighting is also one way to keep your energy bills lower. When installing or replacing commercial lights you need to consider the location, conditions, and lighting quality you need. Do your research and choose appropriate energy-efficient controls, lamp technology, and other components for a high performance lighting system. By increasing energy efficiency you are saving money and taking care of the environment. Good management and the right equipment are crucial for cutting down energy costs. If you think your outdated packaging equipment consumes way too much power, consider investing in new one. Start here, by checking out Tishma Technologies’ cartoners, case packers, tray packers and palletizers. Who wouldn’t want to own a cartoner, case packer, tray packer or palletizer that can work 24/7, with no downtime? Sadly, even the most reliable systems occasionally need to be shut down in order to do the maintenance and replenish materials that the machines utilize. It is every manager’s dream to increase the efficiency of some processes. One of the ways to do so is to maximize the automation of processes and bring downtime to a minimum. Key techniques for increasing efficiency Gathering precise information about your packaging line is the first step to increasing line efficiency and minimizing downtime. Operators can analyze the efficiency of the line and discover if there is a room for improvements just by measuring the numerical performance of the line. This can be especially useful when the workers on the factory floor are engaged in the process. Empowering your employees to benchmark and objectively analyze their performance will result in energized workers, ready and willing to discover ways to improve efficiency. Besides measuring, there are certain changes to manufacturing practices that can create efficiencies and increase throughput. One of the major causes of downtime is material or product loading so it is clear that utilizing an automatic system can significantly reduce downtime and increase profitability. Additionally, automation of processes often means that fewer operators can manage the task, which reduces the labor costs. In order to ensure a high degree of packaging automation uptime there are two areas you should focus on: redundancy and availability. Redundancy refers to back up systems that can take over the production during the maintenance, servicing or failure of some of the main components. Without the backup system,all these cases would result in system downtime. Redundancy in Packaging Automation Printer/applicators: These systems need a steady supply of labels that come in large rolls. When it is time for a roll change, instead of shutting down the operation, a second machine can take over the full production load during maintenance. Having two printers running at the sametime enables a higher label application rate and in fact it works better than keeping one machine as a backup, because it saves the time needed to get the spare machine on line. Packing list inserters: These machines need paper replenishment, and depending on the air humidity, there is continuous risk of paper jams. This can also be easily solved by utilizing 2 machines working side by side. Availability in Packaging Automation
Availability refers to the percentage of time the system components are available for operation in comparison to the time they are not (when they need to be shut down for maintenance or repair). There are solutions that are better than others in terms of availability. So consider these solutions for promoting packaging automation uptime:
Increases in productivity and efficiency leads to increase in the profitability of the business. With maximum line efficiency, each package is able to absorb more of the plant overhead. The existing capital structure can be used to fulfill more customer orders at less cost per unit. Relatively small but highly strategic capital investments, such as automatic packaging equipment, can be returned quickly and ultimately lead to even greater line profitability. If you are looking for a way to minimize downtime and increase efficiency, search no longer! Tishma Technologies manufactures fully automated packaging machines and systems with various modular add-ons that allow you to automate every aspect of the packaging process, from product feeding to printing and labeling. Precautions regarding drug integrity are currently rising and at the moment, over 40 countries have laid down track-and-trace laws in order to trace the product through the supply chain. By 2019, these laws will apply to 75% of the world’s prescription medications. Law requirements differ depending on a country, but they are all based on one key aspect: Serialization. Serialization relies on assigning unique numeric codes to each individual saleable unit and even if it sounds pretty simple, implementing serialization is a complicated process. By now manufacturer’s main concern was producing identical units to an exacting standard. New rules require that after production, each item has to be identified with unique code which must be further communicated to supply chain partners. Manufacturers are also responsible for that data for a certain period of time, which may last for several years. Line Upgrades To apply serialization, you need to upgrade your packaging line, and in order to upgrade your packaging line, you need precisely define your needs and answer a few questions.. Equipment. First of all, what are your new equipment needs? Can your current printers produce the required 2-D bar codes? Are your vision systems down for the challenge? Downtime. Upgrading lines means downtime. How much time will each upgrade take? Are you able to adjust production schedules to ensure you will have enough products in stock while your machine is being upgraded? Artwork. Design changes do not directly affect the packaging process, but they shouldn’t be overlooked. Fair number of pharmaceutical companies have to redesign their labels to ensure there is enough space for the 2-D bar codes and other human-readable components. How much time will it take for your designers to make the new label and how much time will it take for FDA to approve your new layout? From this point of view, implementing serialization seems like a real hassle. On the other hand, serialization brings many improvements to your management data, so don’t perceive it as just a law enforced obligation. 1. Recall Management
Many manufacturing industries come to a challenge when it comes to recalling bad, tainted or spoiled products. Without tracking the distribution of batches or lots through distribution and retail channels, you cannot do the recall accurately which leads to an expensive general recall of all products. Serialization helps you to reduce the impact of a recall, reduce the time to complete the recall and save the brand image. 2. Alerting Controlling your supply chain and tracking the product allows you to alert your partners when things are not going as planned. The sooner you receive an information that something went wrong, the sooner you can fix it and thus reduce costs or errors and prepare and plan for issues before they occur. 3.Expiration Management For products with limited shelf-life, the batch number can be used to determine product’s End-Of-Life (EOL) and help to implement certain management disciplines and strategies. True, this may require certain supply chain partners to capture, monitor, communicate, and act on expiration data, but in the long run it reduces obsolescence, reduces returns, and improves replenishment planning and accuracy. 4.Supply Chain Planning Unique product codes are helping you to always know how many of your products are left, for example, in the in-store inventory and to predict when and where to replenish the stocks. It also helps you to asses all sorts of merchandizing issues, from displays to distribution patterns. As a conclusion: Implementing serialization is a serious project, but the benefits are worth it. All you really need is a trusting partner who will help you to prepare your packaging lines in order to respond to these new requirements. Tishma Technologies is a first choice, so check out Tishma Technologies' cartoners, tray packers, case packers or palletizers, available with laser and ink jet printers and Serialization vision and tracking capabilities. Safety in the world of packaging used to be a matter of a few requirements and simple maintenance. Today, this is changing rapidly. The market demands new products and packaging styles and the packaging industry is requiring modular packaging systems - cartoners, case and tray packers and palletizers with greater speeds, faster change overs and less downtime. With today’s automation of packaging lines, shutting down a machine is more than just a minor inconvenience. It is impractical and it leads to productivity loss. If you shut the machine down while there is product in it, before you can turn it on again you will have to clear the product from the machine. Not to mention that bringing newer machines back online may in some cases be a more complex and time-consuming than with older machines.As you can see, the safety matter cannot simply be reduced to an "emergency off switch" On the other hand, machines require maintaining and servicing, so we need to find a way to perform safety related work without stopping the production. This can be accomplished with a modular design approach. Some segment of the machine can be slowed down or put in a different mode of operation, so that we can keep downtime to a minimum. The operator is safe and when he is done, the machine can run faster again. Standards and what about them? No machine standards are enforced in the U.S. except for those of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration – these rules have the support of law. On the other hand, multinational companies are very persistent in demanding compliance. Not abiding to certain rules and standards can even close the door for some markets, for example Europe. The new standards follow new technologies that can make packaging machines both safer and more productive. The two most important standards in this field are ANSI/PMMI B155.1 2011 and EN ISO 13849-1. Other standards might refer to a specific aspect of a machine or system operation, such as robotics, but these two standards are the main drivers in redefining safety requirements for packaging machine manufacturers and users. Zoning and optoelectronics – New way of doing things New safety technology utilizes the same Ethernet network as the machine control system. Moving from hardwired safety circuits and safety PLCs to a networked safety system allows packaging machines and lines to be zoned. It also replaces wiring and provides additional diagnostic information. The zoning approach allows you to safely control speeds, torques and motion in specific sections of machines or lines without having to stop the entire line, so the system can be safely slowed rather than e-stopped and restarted. Robotics are playing a pretty important role in packaging and the flexibility gained by zoning is particularly relevant to robotics. The great percentage of robot-related injuries occurs not during production but during programming and maintenance. To approach the robot, workers must expose themselves to risk, because they need to turn off some or all of the old, binary on/off safety devices. Newer technology and new standards allow workers to access robots and still be protected. The Robotics Industry Association (www.robotics.org) has recently revised its ANSI/RIA R15.06 2012 Industrial Robot Standard according to the risk assessment methodology of EN ISO 13849-1 to adjust to this new reality and allow today’s advanced programmable safety devices to be used.
Light curtains, laser scanners, safety cameras and similar devices are becoming more and more reliable and when coupled with integrated controllers, they provide more flexibility as well. Optoelectric devices such as safety light curtains are getting cheaper while adding additional features making these devices more affordable to incorporate. These and other devices are easier to incorporate into machines and systems thanks to the introduction of new safety technologies like safety controllers. Advanced communications and the flexibility of the safety controller reduce the machine down time thus improving manufacturing efficiency. The safety controller is expendable, so it allows a customer to standardize on a single platform for all their machines. New technology brings new options, so when you set off on a hunt for a new packaging machine, ask for a machines safety specification and choose the machine that can meet your requirements in terms of safety and productivity. Start now; get a quote on Tishma Technologies' cartoners, tray packers, case packers or palletizers. |
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