Having spent my career to date on the process manufacturing side of automation, it’s great to be at PACK EXPO, a conference for people involved in packaging products. A stroll down a supermarket aisle, electronics retailer or other consumer business shows how varied this packaging can be.
The exhibition hall floor is filled with automated machines performing functions such as bottle filling and sealing; pouch form, fill and seal; blister packaging; and palletizing and wrapping.
For food & beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care and other manufacturers, contamination is a challenge that must addressed to make sure the packaged products survive the journey from manufacturer to consumer across the supply chain. Regulations such as the Food Safety Modernization Act require packagers to adhere to new regulations for labeling and ensure their machinery, tools and structures comply with new standards that safeguard against contamination.
Here at PACK EXPO, the Emerson team is showing products and technologies to address these contamination challenges. Branson ultrasonic welding technology achieves consistent weld quality for a wide variety of sealing needs, regardless of application and package complexity. Ultrasonic welding requires no consumables and produces a contamination-free seal, which results in fewer product losses and less overall scrappage.
Handling an ever-increasing variety of products and container sizes can pose significant challenges when it comes to quality control. Greater variability can mean more opportunity for errors as operators attempt to ensure the quality of widely different products. The Cascade Leak Detection and Analysis Systems for aerosol, pharmaceutical and food products can test a variety of container sizes to ensure container integrity.
In the demonstration, the Cascade system senses aerosol, ethanol and/or carbon dioxide fumes to identify loss of a seal and the potential for product contamination.
If you’re here in Las Vegas the next few days, stop by to visit with the Emerson team to learn about these technologies and applications to avoid contamination conditions in your packaging line operations.
