How Omron’s Motion and Control Helped Liquibox Reduce Material Waste and Stay Flexible

June 2, 2020

For flexible packaging pioneer Liquibox, sustainability has always been a priotiry. The company has more than 50 years of experience supplying pouches and bag-in-box solutions to food and beverage companies, and its liquid packaging withstands hard shipping conditions, dispenses perfectly into any machine. and maintains a small environmental footprint.

In search of a new way to make both their products and their processes more sustainable, Liquibox teamed up with Omron to devise a solution.

Reducing material waste by improving accuracy

Omron’s first task was to enhance the accuracy of the system that pulls film along the length of the company’s bag-making machines, which are flexible enough to handle a range of film types and material sizes as well as fitments. We used our G5 servos to achieve the required specification while keeping tension constant and avoiding over-pull or under-pull.

Controlling the temperature to support sustainability

Liquibox uses a variety of films with new resin technologies that make them stronger and thinner than other options. These films require better temperature control, as each type may have a different gauge and melting point. Omron’s E5C temperature controllers keep the sealing bar temperature stable while accommodating variances from film changeovers.

Overall, the new Omron technologies helped Liquibox produce 100% of its bags within specification and significantly cut down on wasted material. The company’s machines now deliver 133% higher pouch output thanks to the speed of the EtherCAT network and the Omron platform’s fast program scan time.

Source

Related Articles



Editor’s Pick: Featured Article

Weidmüller’s u-control 2000: The Automation Controller

Weidmüller’s u-control 2000: The Automation Controller

Weidmüller’s scalable engineering software, u-control 2000, adapts individually to your requirements. And, the u-control is powerful, compact and fully compatible with Weidmüller’s I/O system u-remote. This article looks at what makes u-control the heart of your automation.

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are one of the main components of any automated system. A typical control system has inputs, outputs, controllers (i.e., PLCs), and some type of human interaction with the system, a human machine interface (HMI), for example.

Read More



Latest Articles

  • Should You Buy a New Robot or Invest in Refurbishing a Used One?

    February 11, 2025 Robot replacement and remanufacturing for extended lifespan Should you buy a new robot or invest in refurbishing a used one? Giving a robot a second life often saves time and, in many cases, money, but it also results in lower CO2 emissions. At Frosta’s plant in Bydgoszcz, there were two robotic lines where… Read More…

  • How to Choose the Right Power Distribution Unit for Your Data Centre IT Enclosure

    February 11, 2025 In today’s data centres, Power Distribution Units (PDUs) have evolved far beyond their origins as basic power strips. As IT infrastructure becomes more complex and power demands within racks vary, choosing the right PDU is critical to optimizing data centre performance, ensuring uptime, and managing power consumption efficiently. From basic power distribution to advanced… Read More…