Originally Published EMDM
January/February 2004
INDUSTRY NEWS
Packaging Machine Design Heeds Plug & Pack Guidelines |
| A machine suited for testing packaging and performing small-quantity production runs was designed with Plug & Pack Guidelines in mind. Judicious use of the standard can ease integration with other equipment and improve productivity. |
A recently introduced packaging machine is one of few on the market to use the Plug & Pack concept. Developed by
MDC Engineering (Sarasota, FL, USA), the machine is suited for testing drug-packaging materials. It can also be used for small-quantity production runs. What makes it unique, however, is the integration of control components from Schneider Electric (Paris) that apply the Plug & Pack Guidelines.
The Plug & Pack Guidelines were drafted under the auspices of the Open Modular Architecture Controls (OMAC) users group. The standard is designed to enable communication between production equipment and other plant systems. Members of OMAC include OEMs, automation and control suppliers, and consumer products–packaging users.
The machine from MDC Engineering uses Schneider Electric’s SERCOS motion control and logic controller. The programmable unit contains a built-in Web server and Ethernet function. This feature enables the display of such information as real-time production data, machine drawings, and manuals.
The equipment design itself is based on an older model of a unit-dose machine, says Jon Ford, co-owner of MDC Engineering. The new system can be rolled in and out of cleanrooms for sterility runs, package testing, and small-quantity production runs, allowing production on the larger machines to continue.
“We felt that reintroducing this type of format was beneficial,” says Ford. “We looked at consumer products, where marketing often needs to have samples made. [In medical device manufacturing], rigid packs, sterility, and printing can be tested.” Machine setup is easy, adds Ford. “It can be used to test and shape moulds, for example. Then the machine can be shut down and rolled back into the corner.”
Although the machine’s format harks back to an older design, the manufacturer’s use of the Plug & Pack Guidelines is hailed as a productivity booster. “The OMAC standards make it easier to integrate our equipment into packaging systems,” says Ford. It is one of few such machines that use the standard as it was envisioned, adds a member of the Schneider team that was involved in the project.
The Plug & Pack initiative develops definitions for widely used terms in the packaging industry. The language, called PackML, includes machine states and tag names, line types, values, and structures. The same naming conventions are used regardless of the underlying network hardware and protocols. Standardized performance metrics also simplify comparisons of different machines, lines, and plants.
For more information about the control system, contact Schneider Electric, 43-45 boulevard Franklin-Roosevelt, 92500 Rueil-Malmaison, France; phone: +33 1 41297000; fax: +33 1 41297100; Internet:
www.schneiderautomation.com. To learn more about the testing machine, contact MDC Engineering, 4023A Sawyer Ct., Sarasota, FL 34234, USA; phone: +1 941 9214050; fax: +1 941 9214240.
Melody Lee
Copyright ©2003 European Medical Device Manufacturer
