When Belgian food slicing machine builder Marelec wanted to ensure that its machines were not only highly productive but also safe, it turned to Pilz Automation Technology for an appropriate safety concept, implemented to the highest safety Performance Level PL e.

In 2014, the factory of food manufacturer Refineria del Centro was extended with a new line to produce baker’s yeast. When searching for trustable suppliers, the client favoured those making reliable and safe equipment. For the aeration of the fermentation tanks, Sulzer was chosen to provide six completely oil-free HST turbocompressors. This has since been proven to be a winning choice.

‘Smart’ sensors have become an essential component in many food manufacturing systems as the demand for ever more sophisticated automation continues apace across a huge range of processing applications. Smart 2D profile sensors from Baumer are playing a key role in an automated sandwich and filled rolls production line at Germany company Weber Maschinebau.

As brewing company AB InBev reaps the benefits of digitalisation using COPA-DATA technology and enhances its sustainability, Stefan Reuther, member of the executive board at COPA-DATA, sheds light on innovation, trust and the role of independent software vendors (ISVs).

When a major UK pet food producer wanted better machine utilisation with the aim of raising its OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) by 3 points, it asked experts at bearing specialist NSK if they could evaluate processes and systems to help with this improvement goal.

When a meat processing plant operator needed a solution to check that transportation bins had been emptied prior to being sent to an automated wash station, it turned to Contrinex. An ultrasonic sensor mounted above a conveyor looks down into the bins and diverts contaminated bins from proceeding to the wash station.

When an automotive manufacturer needed a low cost, easy-to-implement solution to add RFID verification to the automated tooling change system, for a small robot working as a machine tender to an expensive and delicate machining centre, it turned to Contrinex.

Supporting a bachelor thesis project at The Vienna University of Technology, Norelem has provided a range of components to enable students to make their idea a reality.

See Schaeffler at MachineBuilding.Live, 4 October 2023, on stand 69

Installing a robotic pick-and-place and integrated conveyor solution has increased productivity for a pharmaceutical manufacturer while maintaining regulatory compliance. Combining a vision system optimised for accuracy that assures end-to-end traceability, a single controller from Trio manages both the robot and conveyor axes, increasing reliability for the end user.