When the image is new, the world is new, goes the popular saying. The
appearance of a product goes a long way in influencing its
marketability. Thus packaging must be designed to attract the end user
before they even know the uses of a product.
The increase in population and the demand for consumer goods as well
as food stuffs has occasioned the need for mechanization to speed up
production processes. This has also lead to development of various
packaging machines and designs which boost production.
International Standards on Packaging Material and Machines
For a successful manufacture of packaging machinery it is crucial to
understand the regulatory requirements and the standards that need to
be attained for the product. Manufacturers of packaging machines for the
food and pharmaceutical products must put in additional effort since
these are products for consumption. They must be subjected to a food
safety risk assessment process to assess potential hazards to the food.
The International standards organization have developed global
standards on packaging that requires manufacturers to comply with these
standards or show reasonable standards of compliance or risk being
pushed out of market.
Calibration Techniques of Packaging and Sealing Machines
Calibration is done by setting the parameters to be achieved and
running a test sample to confirm that they are achieved. These are such
as the firmness of seal, accuracy of placement and even tightness of
cap. Powder filling machines
must be precisely manufactured and set to release just the required
amount of product. Any faults in the discharge nozzle or gun will lead
to either more discharge or less which is not acceptable. If this
machine were used for the pharmaceutical firm the consequences are
dangerous. This applies to filling machines and the pharmaceutical
machinery in general.
Workmanship versus durability
Workmanship represents the final quality and appearance of the
product and mostly in machinery. For ideal equipment, the workmanship
must match the durability of the equipment to give complete service to
the end user.
Innovation for greater applications
In the business world, no organization can progress without
innovation. Thus innovative management practices greatly give an
organization a competitive edge over others in the same industry. In
manufacturing, a packing machine that can handle various products is
more productive than one which handles only one item. The Capping machine is able to handle various products with similar packaging requirements hence very important in packaging.
Availability of technical information for maintenance
The availability of technical information, spare parts, after sales
service is a critical requirement for machines. Lack of spare parts can
mean that the machine is grounded thus interfering with the production
process. Similarly absence of technical information means that company
technicians have to work their way around to know the equipment first
then undertake maintenance. All this is time consuming leading to losses
in production.
Conclusion
Packaging machines are very important in the manufacturing and
consumer products. To ensure great customer service and adherence to
food safety requirements, standards have been developed such as the ISO
12100 and ISO 14121 standards on packaging machinery. Calibration is
very important for packaging equipments to ensure accurate delivery of
products as well as create great products.
Availability of technical information and spare parts is also very
important for serviceability of the machine and continuous production.
This article is written by Mahesh Mevada
