Higher productivity in Primary, Secondary and Final packaging

Higher productivity in Primary,

Secondary and Final packaging

Unlike much innovation, it’s not just niche markets or

specialty manufacturers that can take immediate advantage

of these new opportunities. “We already have proven

automation strategies across the full spectrum of packaging,”

says Hadrien Maureille. “Whether it’s fresh food, beverages,

confectionary, liquids, pharmaceuticals or cosmetics, we

can supply our customers with advanced solutions that

are already proven in the field. What’s more we cover the

full range of advanced packaging solutions. For example,

our complete portfolio of vision products range from

application-specific vision sensors to PC-based vision

systems with EtherCAT embedded.

“Whether it’s fresh food, beverages, confectionary, liquids, pharmaceuticals or cosmetics, we can supply our customers with advanced solutions that are already proven in the field.”

“It’s all part of our ‘ten-year plan to become Number One,

which we launched in 2010,” says Hadrien Maureille, Omron’s

European Packaging Market Manager. “Omron has been a

specialist in packaging automation for more than 30 years,

so we have known for quite some time that packaging

machines were evolving into fully integrated systems where

robots, safety, motion and vision will all eventually meet.

That’s why we developed the ‘Sysmac’ platform, to accelerate

that evolution by providing one network and one software

for all elements in the machine. Sysmac not only integrates

the whole system, it actually makes increasingly complex

automation much easier to implement. The result is that

packaging machine manufacturers can now design and

develop new machines in a fraction of the time it used to

take. The platform has also fundamentally changed our

own ‘modus operandi’: we no longer start from the idea of

proposing individual components for a machine, Sysmac has

given us a holistic systemic approach. One that is founded

on what the customer wants to achieve rather than what we

can sell.”

Hadrien MaureilleOmron’s European Packaging Market Manager

These vision systems can provide object detection or quality

inspection or a combination of both. Place one downstream

from your packaging machine and get a reliable final

packaging inspection system. It will do everything from

content detection, label defect, and position inspection, to

barcode verification up to OCR/OCV inspection and printed

elements check such as “best-before” date. Use it upstream

to a robotic handling module and you can simultaneously

track “on-the-fly” product position on a conveyor, detect the

positioning angle relative to the conveying direction, as well

as sort the product by pattern, color or surface. Also, Omron

vision systems can support most of the high-speed, random

product identification and location required in many pick-

and-place applications.”

Answering customer needs

Moreover, we can give our customers solutions that they

really need. Over the years we have worked very closely with

our packaging machine customers, and as a result we know

what they want. For example, speed is obviously essential

for high productivity, but so too is the ease with which a

machine can be operated, cleaned and serviced. That’s why

our HMIs include intuitive graphics that guide the operator

step-by-step through the different parameter changes of a

recipe-driven product changeover for example.”

The end-users’ dream in versatility

“We also know that increasingly the packaging concept

must be upgraded and changed. That’s why our new

controller combines EtherCAT with our new One-Software-

Environment. It’s a combination that enables our customers

to phase-out conventional mechanical systems and replace

them with highly versatile servo drives, Delta-robot, and

vision systems. This reduces product changeovers to mere

software commands. This is the end-users’ dream – the

ability to switch packaging parameters at the push of a

button.”

Reliability guaranteed

“Today, our product offering to the packaging industry is

matching the industry’s needs, ”says Hadrien Maureille. “A

wide selection is vital for best-fit solutions. But having high-

quality products with extremely low failure rates is essential

Omron is already delivering totally integrated packaging systems where robots, safety, motion and vision all work and communicate as one.

for our customers’ profitability. Fortunately, our quality control procedures have set very high

standards in reliability and robustness, even in the harshest of environments.”

Expert support - here and abroad

“What’s more, we have networks of engineers both here in Europe and in South East Asia,”

says Hadrien Maureille. “This means we can advise and work with our customers here in

Europe during the design and development of their new packaging machine. Our engineers

have in-depth knowledge of networks, PLCs, motion, safety and HMIs – knowledge that we

can share with our customers, both at their own premises and at our Packaging Automation

Test Centre.

In addition, as a global manufacturer, we can provide our services anywhere in the world.

Wherever you are installing your machines, we can arrange, on-site, a liaison sales engineer

to facilitate training, spare parts supply or even machine commissioning. All this in the local

language with local documentation.”

Into the future

There is no doubt that Omron’s vision in packaging automation has ignited the imagination

of quite a few people in the industry. But apart from unifying the software environment and

providing a roadmap to advanced highly flexible vision and robot systems, where else can

the company impact on the packaging industry and Europe’s 500+ machine manufacturers?

“That’s easy,” says Hadrien Maureille with a smile. “The first two years of our ten-year plan

in packaging have helped us establish an integrated platform that focusses on speed and

performance. The next couple of years will see us focus on flexible cell automation with fully

integrated safety, kinematics and CNC functionality. We will also work towards more machine

virtualization. We have worked hard to build a solid foundation for the future – the rest is just

a building-block process.”

Our industries

Automotive

Beverage

Cosmetics

Entertainment

Food

Plastics

Recycling and Garbage Handling

Semiconductor

Marine

Transportation

Water Treatment

Our technologies

Sensors

Panel components

Safety

Relays

Control

Packaging

Automation

Motion & Drives

Industrial Automation

Contact us

Omron Europe B.V.

Wegalaan 67-69

NL-2132 JD Hoofddorp

The Netherlands

T: +31 (0) 23 568 13 00

F: +31 (0) 23 568 13 88

industrial.omron.eu