A packaging line of different machines — one logic on screen
Feeder, labeller, inspection, sorter, palletizing: each unit with its own cycle and state, the links between them on one graph.
What is checked before start-up
- Machines from different manufacturers — one lineA unit reads and writes only its own tags; who is linked to whom is decided by the project.
- The state of each unit — by PackMLRunning, waiting, fault — you can see which unit and at which step holds the line.
- A pack on the conveyor — as on siteSlipping, a jam at back-pressure, a fallen pack — before the trip to site.
- Pallet outputLayers, wrapping, pallet exit — palletizing scenario.
Product physics next to the controller is a subject of the implementation; the unit test run in the browser works.
What the line is built from
Each kind is a mechanism, axes, I/O and an example program. The whole library →
Zones, buffers and links — on one graph
A packaging line is a group of zones: feeding, marking, inspection, sorting, palletizing. Each zone is a project of units on one 3D scene; between zones stand buffers, and they decide whether a stop is passed to the neighbour.
A product travels between units over a material link: type, size, mass, position on the carrier, a nested buffer — a pallet with packs. Signals “place free”, “box arrived”, “taking” go over an information link and do not invent a product.
Roles packaging needs
| Role | Where on the line |
|---|---|
| Stopper, separator | Stopping the flow before a unit, dispensing from a magazine |
| Applicator, marker | Label, stamp, mark by the inspection result |
| Diverter | A route fork in sorting |
| Vacuum, grip | Moving a product with suction cups or a gripper |
| Label gap | The gap between labels — feed synchronisation |
| Inspection verdict | The gauge’s answer: pass or reject |
| Presence, fill level | A product in the zone; level in a doser or container |
A unit is offered only its own actions: without a presence sensor there is no “wait for part” in the list. The full dictionary — “Line automation”.
The platform’s first line is palletizing
- PalletAn empty pallet is fed to the stacking place.
- LayersPacks are laid in layers, with cardboard between layers.
- WrappingThe pallet wrapper covers the load with film.
- OutputThe finished pallet leaves the line.
The palletizer tool is a “smart clamp”: servo plates, forks, suction cups. The full scenario — palletizing.
What works and what is worked out in the implementation
- RunsLine project in 3D, units from the library, links on the “Graph”, unit test run in the browser.
- Subject of the implementationProduct physics next to the controller, pace calculation from unit phases, the shadow of a running line.
- Discuss an implementationA packaging line where units from different manufacturers must be brought into one logic.
Discuss an implementation
Describe the unit or line — we will tell you what we will verify and in what time. Target indicators are fixed in the implementation specification.
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