PACK EXPO 2024 unveiled a wealth of legacy and innovative solutions that are shaping the future of packaging and processing among a range of vertical markets.
With industry leaders showcasing their latest offerings, attendees had the opportunity to engage with products, services and solutions that prioritize automation, safety and efficiency. Here is just a smattering of some products that were seen at the event.
Altech Corporation Offers Automation Components
With a legacy of 40 years, the company continues to be a leading supplier of industrial automation components. They showcased several products at PACK EXPO, including:
- Disconnect switches
- Miniature circuit breakers
- Terminal blocks
- Enclosures.
One highlight is their manual motor controller, which offers a robust panel safety. They also displayed DC UPS systems, sensors and safety devices that comply with UL requirements and international standards, ensuring they are ROHS and Reach compliant.
Balluff Demos Showcased Controls, Monitoring and More
Visitors to the Balluff booth got to explore the latest automation technology for controls architecture, condition monitoring, guided format change and more to enhance processes, decrease downtime and improve overall equipment efficiency in the packaging and food and beverage industries. Demos included:
- Guided changeover solutions
- Level detection
- Form-fill-seal systems
- Condition monitoring
- Food safety technologies
- Smart automation monitoring systems
- Network architecture
- Standard automation sensors
- Logistics
- Traceability with RFID.
Festo Featured Motion Control, Grippers, Imperial Components and More
The company offered motion control solutions for food and packaging operations; adaptable gripping solutions for packaging applications; VTUX valve terminals; vacuum components; Didactic learning solutions; and Fabco Air imperial components.
Attendees considering motion control or remote I/O for their food and packaging operations got to see the ability to power up efficiency and connectivity with the company’s portfolio of products. Festo’s linear and rotary mechanical systems, servo drives and motors, control solutions and I/O systems can be integrated into an existing automation chain with minimal risk.
Intelligent gripping systems adapt to unique requirements. From delicate items to heavy loads, the company’s grippers are made to handle a range of products.
The VTUX valve terminals can serve as I/O, remote I/O and decentralized I/O. The compact and rugged IP65/67-rated terminals can be located anywhere on a machine that boosts operational performance and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) installation productivity. Their modularity aims to result in less inventory and lower overhead costs.
READ MORE: The New, Noteworthy and Game-Changing: Product Launches at PACK EXPO 2024
The OVPN multistage vacuum generator and the OASP vacuum generator cartridge are suitable for overhead palletizing, case erecting and bag feeding. The OVPN nozzle technology creates high initial suction flow while optimizing air consumption leading to maximum energy efficiency and sustainable operations. The OSAP generator cartridge is offered in a two- or three-stage design, with the three-stage option giving the highest suction flow rate at 245 l/min. The OSAP is available as a simple generator cartridge or with a retaining cap and integrated silencer. Like the OVPN, the OASP is designed to be lightweight and compact.
Didactic specializes in providing innovative learning solutions for technical education and industrial training. They offer a range of training systems, simulators and educational resources designed to develop practical skills and competencies in fields such as automation, mechatronics, robotics and fluid power.
Finally, Festo’s Fabco Air brand is made for precision, reliability and performance in the inch-sized pneumatic market in industries that require inch-based solutions. Components include:
- Actuators
- Valves Air-preparation products.
KHK USA Inc. Geared Up for Industrial Automation Applications
The company specializes in providing an array of metric gears tailored for industrial automation applications. Visitors were able to explore nearly 200 styles of gearing in more than 26,000 configurations. Representative samples included:
- Metric spur gears
- Helical gears
- Internal ring gears
- Gear racks, including CPR racks and pinions
- Miter gears (spiral, straight, Zerol and Hypoid)
- Screw gears
- Worms and worm wheels
- Gearboxes
- Ratchets and pawls
- Gear couplings
- Involute splines and bushings
- Educational demo kits for deeper insights into gear functionalities.
The company demonstrated how their products can optimize efficiency in industrial settings.
Schmersal Inc.’s Comprehensive Safety Solutions
Standing at the forefront of machine safety technology, the company has more than 75 years of technical knowledge and industry experience to create comprehensive safety solutions tailored to protect machinery operators. Their offerings at this year’s event included:
- Safety-related components
- Industrial switches
- Position sensors
- Control accessories
- Engineering services.
READ MORE: PACK EXPO International 2024: Sustainability Becomes a Core Engineering Focus
Their tec.nicum group offers product- and manufacturer-neutral consultation on matters relating to machine safety and work protection. Their team of TÜV certified functional safety engineers for machinery can plan and realize complex solutions for safety around the world in close collaboration with clients. They also offer:
- Training courses on numerous topics, including general machine safety, ISO13849, safety circuits and wiring, and understanding and conducting risk assessments.
- Safety appraisals and conformity check with applicable legislation and standards of machine safety and work protection.
- Risk assessments, machine testing and complete project documentation.
- Assist in the parametrization, programming and installation of complex components such as optoelectronic safety products and safety controllers.
Universal Robots Accelerates Its AI-Powered Cobot Innovations
The company showed off its AI Accelerator, enabling a new wave of AI-powered cobot innovations. The ready-to-use hardware and software toolkit created to further enable the development of AI-powered cobot applications is designed for commercial and research applications and provides developers with an extensible platform to build applications, accelerate research and reduce time to market of AI products.
READ MORE: Essential Insights for Engineers at PACK EXPO 2024
Key features include:
- Integration with NVIDIA Isaac accelerated libraries and AI models, running on the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin system-on-module
- Compatibility with the PolyScope X platform
- Support for developers creating applications in areas like pose estimation, object detection, path planning and quality inspection
- Orbbec Gemini 335Lg 3D camera
The toolkit provides users with an extensible platform to foster innovation in robotics, significantly reducing time to market for new AI solutions while improving accessibility in a range of industries.
