 Keith's
Travel Calendar
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Category: New technology
The PLC Charade
October 27, 2011
We need to question the ongoing practice of adding an unnecessary PLC to a complex mechatronic machine while maintaining the primary control software in another control platform. That primary platform will contain the motion control algorithms but could just as well perform the functions allocated to the PLC. Why are we permitting, or in some cases requiring, this added cost and complexity?...
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Yesterday's New Technologies, Today's Commodities
September 30, 2011
When I reflect over a decade or more of Pack Expo and Interpack trade shows, it is apparent that a new and possibly breakthrough technology from one era may become an almost overlooked commodity in another. PLC's, at least simple ones, are a commodity today. What about some of the other technologies on which modern packaging machines are built?...
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Embedded Robotics at Pack Expo
September 28, 2011
The concept of embedding a purpose-built robotic functionality into a packaging machine is one that can add flexibility to the machine while reducing the time and cost of development. I believe it is a concept that is under-employed by machinery builders, partly because it is a concept that is misunderstood as inserting an off the shelf robotic cell between two other machine cells. Embedded or integrated robotics, as I define...
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Are the vultures flying around your plant?
March 13, 2011
No manufacturer wants to become food for vultures; yet many do. While publications struggle to stay afloat in this day of free content via the internet, a one year subscription to Plant Closing News will set you back $999. In its 8 year existence, PCN has reported on over 5000 plant closings and relocations. Paul Clemens' book Punching Out - One Year in a Closing Auto Plant, chronicles the events...
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ARC World Industry Forum points to the need for packaging machinery standards
February 8, 2011
The opening session of ARC's World Industry Forum on driving innovation, sustainability and performance provided insights into the issues that are or will be affecting packagers and packaging machinery suppliers, even though the word packaging was never actually used. The session's presenters represented ARC and the oil and chemical industries, but these industries frequently deal with issues a few years in advance of the rest of manufacturing....
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Another important concept - Integrated Robotics
September 30, 2010
For some time I've mentioned the term integrated robotics in my posts. As time has passed, I've learned that not everyone interprets this term in the same way. I see integrated robotics as a significant advancement in the design of machinery, so I think it worth some further discussion....
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Words are important- Mechatronics
August 31, 2010
Words are important to our lives. Careless use of words gets us in trouble with our wives, children and coworkers. Incorrect use of words obscures meaning. Overuse of words reduces impact. Today the word mechatronics is being carelessly, incorrectly and too frequently used. The result could be a setback to innovation, education and workforce development. Let's review the definition of mechatronics and what we should do to keep its use...
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Clarification on PackML
August 20, 2010
After a recent post in which I mentioned PackML, I received a response from Dave Chappell pointing out what has become a pervasive bit of confusion about the official ISA document that contains the PACKML guidelines. I was unaware of this situation and have been contributing to the confusion, so let's try to set the record straight....
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PMMI Launches Mechatronics Certificate Program
June 30, 2010
The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) has launched their certificate program in mechatronics. The first test in the series of certificates is now avaiiable to be taken online. This test covers the principles and applications of basic industrial electricity and electronics as they relate to packaging machinery and systems. This is the first of a planned twenty one tests for certificates covering packaging-oriented mechatronics skills required for industrial maintenance, design,...
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All this talk about sustainable packaging machinery - Are we being honest?
May 25, 2010
One of the world's packaging guru's asked my opinion this month on whether sustainability is now a factor and if it will become more so in packaging machinery evaluation and selection. By the time I had finished my response, I decided that I had something to share with my readers, although many may disagree with my conclusion. I think that all of this talk about sustainable packaging machinery is being...
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Should Packaging Machines have Total Recall?
November 30, 2009
A new technology application called Total Recall could, in the foreseeable future, change the way we interact with people and live our lives. In the even shorter term, this technology could change the way we interact with, design and support machines. Should we be thinking about our machines being built with total recall?...
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US continues to fall behind in manufacturing technology
October 30, 2009
Events of the last month point to the United States' continued decline in advanced manufacturing technology relative to other regions. At some point this disturbing trend will become irreversible. We may be approaching that point of no return....
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Sustainability replaces innovation at PackExpo
October 24, 2009
I was underwhelmed by the number of innovative machine applications at PackExpo. A colleague with the same observation expressed it succinctly: it was all about sustainability. The emphasis on green and sustainable is being driven by political correctness. Technological innovation, not political correctness, is necessary to sustain our industry. Let's not allow this to become yet another distraction that allows our international competitors to increase their competitive advantage....
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Mechatronics: Vocabulary is important
December 7, 2008
Mechatronics is a word that I have used frequently in this column, but one that not many outside of the immediately affected industry are familiar with. That has got to change, and there are signs that it is....
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Packaging education shifting emphasis
October 20, 2008
Packaging education is undergoing a change, with more attention being given to the machines and the underlying technologies that support them. A rapidly expanding emphasis on mechatronics is causing schools and organizations to add, modify and rename programs. Expect to see new players, new programs and some significant educational announcements at PackExpo 2008....
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Scouting PackExpo 2008
September 18, 2008
It will soon be time to jet off to Chicago for this year's installment of PackExpo. One hopes that every show of this size brings something new or exciting to the industry. This year's PackExpo should be no exception. Here are some things that I plan to be scouting for....
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Handlungskompetenz: Fahrvergnugen for packaging?
August 18, 2008
Many of us will remember the American advertising campaign of almost 20 years ago in which Volkswagen introduced us to the German word Fahrvergnugen, meaning driving pleasure. Pre-dating my memory, the German word Kindergarten introduced new and unique meaning regarding childhood education. Today the Germans have another new word for us to learn: Handlungskompetenz. Mastery of Handlungskompetenz along with developing skills in mechatronics will be enablers of taking our packaging...
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Robots at Interpack: Cars to nuts, and purpose-built too!
June 22, 2008
What was the most significant trend at Interpack 2008? Many would agree that it was the ubiquitousness of robotics. The halls of the Duesseldorf messe contained hundreds of robotic arms. The smallest item I saw handled by a robot was a single almond and the largest was an entire automobile. But the big news is the number of purpose-built arms that have been implemented by the European packaging machine industry....
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Can you stop China from copying patented packaging machinery?
June 16, 2008
Interpack has often had its intellectual property intrigue and this year is no different. Ishida, the statistical scale company, obtained injunctions against nine Chinese entities that prevented them from displaying their statistical scales at the fair. The dispute involves a patent related to the waterproof construction of the equipment. In a press release that I read in Ishida's booth, three Chinese companies had been named, Highdream, Jinyi and Saimo, but...
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What is mechatronic design?
May 16, 2008
What is mechatronic design and how do you recognize good mechatronic design when you see it? What are the principles that should be followed?...
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Packaging applications of linear motors debut at Interpack
May 5, 2008
Linear motors have been slow to catch on in packaging, but several applications appeared at this year's Interpack. It's time to put linear motors on your company's technology plan....
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Wireless sensors and actuators are on the edge
February 5, 2008
If you are a machine builder, how valuable would it be to eliminate the need of running wires all over your machines to sensors and actuators? I think that could have some value. Wireless technology has been available to eliminate the control wiring, but power wiring was still necessary. New products are beginning to emerge that eliminate the need for both control and power wiring and that are small and...
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Let's have a presidential debate on innovation!
December 17, 2007
Could we have a national discussion on innovation? I don't think that I can stand 11 more months of harping on the same old topics by the US presidential candidates. If they want to talk about something constructive - something that will have long term political, social and economic impact for our nation and our children - let's turn the discussion to the imperative for more innovation....
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Social Networking - The Next Great Enabling Technology
December 7, 2007
Few would disagree that the digital servo has been the great enabling technology for packaging operations over the past 15 years. Could it be that social networking software as exploited by YouTube and MySpace may be the next great enabler?...
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The robots are coming
October 29, 2007
We may be OnTheEdge of major growth spurt for robotics on North American packaging lines. That is what some, including Ben Miyares of PMMI, reported at a robotics conference held over the weekend leading up to Pack Expo in Las Vegas....
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It's not your father's packaging machinery company - or is it?
August 27, 2007
The look of a packaging machinery company is changing. Where once they resembled machine shops, some now resemble IT departments. I first became aware of this about 5 years ago on a tour of some Italian packaging machinery companies, some of whom neither made parts nor assembled machines. Their businesses were built upon the core skills of 3-D modeling, design and software development. This same trend is catching on around...
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Interchangeable parts - Why not software?
August 19, 2007
The concept of interchangeable parts is one that packaging machinery builders readily understand and depend upon every day. Not only are parts from a single manufacturer interchangable within a machine, but builders source custom parts from multiple manufacturers to control cost and schedule and generic parts are interchangeable across a host of different machines and devices. We have come to enjoy and expect that fasteners, shafts, gears, couplings, motors, valves,...
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Getting technology education suited to packging - A how-to guide
May 18, 2007
Technology education in America has been driven by the automotive, metals, aerospace and petro-chemical industries. Certificate programs from organizations like ISA do a good job in preparing technicians for the petro-chemical industry. Programs from NCIST (National Center for Integrated Systems Technology) prepare technicians for employment in the automotive or metals industries. But where does one go for a certificate that prepares technicians for packaging and consumer packaged goods? The available...
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Packagers deprived of talent by misunderstanding of manfuacturing
May 18, 2007
If you ask the average parent, guidance counselor or high school student what manufacturing is all about, you will probably get a description of a steel mill, auto factory, refinery or machine shop. You may also hear that manufacturing is no longer viable in the United States and that manufacturing jobs are hot, dirty, mindless and vanishing. Our general perception of manufacturing is a narrow and outdated one. I call...
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How packaging can compete for workforce development $'s
May 18, 2007
Federal, state and local government agencies can provide significant financial assistance to an industry segment for the updating of skills and technology. Programs such as the Presidents High Growth Job Training Initiative and similar state initiatives target industry clusters that are perceived to offer high growth and stability, often as the result of underlying high-tech. Is packaging getting its share of these dollars? Probably not- but it can. Here are...
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Community activism or tribalism for automation industry?
May 14, 2007
Automation professionals used to behave as a community. End users, technology providers and systems integrators would convene at industry-wide events, much like county fairs, to share ideas, best practices and lessons-learned....
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Are validated lines better lines?
April 30, 2007
How effective are pharmaceutical packaging lines? One would certainly think that the amount of time and money that is spent on validating a pharmaceutical packaing line would result in a line that runs better than a line that has not been subjected to all of this additional engineering, operations and quality control rigor. We hear that the validation costs of a line can exceed 2 to 3 times the cost...
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How risk aversion robs packaging machinery buyers--and builders--of innovation
February 20, 2007
I've heard from several end user and supplier sources that packaging machinery customers are becoming more risk-averse. This is really too bad. Risk-aversion is one of those insidious diseases, like cancer, that can eat away at a company's growth and development....
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Standards increase design creativity, not restrict it
February 10, 2007
During a remodeling project at my son's house, a trip to the home improvement store revealed that the track and fixtures that they now carry aren't compatible with the track and fixtures that my son already has. Result: he can forgo the improvements, or he can tear it all out and start over with new track lighting, or he can waste time and resources to try to find the parts...
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Servos: Overkill? Or simplicity?
February 4, 2007
I've frequently heard equipment builders or end users say that their packaging application is too simple for using servos, or conversely, servos are too complex for their application. Therefore, I am intrigued when I find what appears to be a very simple application implemented with servos. A couple of years ago, a grocery store meat department shrink wrap machine with multi-axis servos caught my eye. Recently at Promat, the Material...
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Promat observations: Can packaging learn from material handling?
February 2, 2007
Just returned from Promat, the international exhibition of the Material Handling Industry of America held in McCormick Place. With more warehouses doing order fulfillment or repacking, warehouses are beginning to look more like packaging operations and several packaging machines were being exhibited for just those proposes. Warehouses are also being packed full of high tech machinery, controls, motion and IT products....
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| About Keith Campbell |
| Leaders learn from the past while
looking to the future - and bring both to bear on the here
and now. This is the philosophy that has steered Keith Campbell's
30+ years in manufacturing. It has worked for him in operations,
maintenance, engineering, R&D, education, consulting and
professional organizations--and now he's putting it to work
for you--taking you to the edge of his thoughts on packaging
operations. |
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