Beyond the Box: Why Custom Automation is the Answer to Your Toughest Packaging Challenges

If your business is exploring custom automation for packaging, it’s likely because you’ve found that off-the-shelf equipment simply doesn’t meet your needs. While standard machines excel at basic tasks, there are often gaps when dealing with unique products or complex processes.

When off-the-shelf solutions fall short, finding an integrator who specializes in custom automation is the next crucial step.

The Gaps: Where Off-the-Shelf Equipment Falls Short

Off-the-shelf equipment is highly effective for packaging consumables, such as yogurt containers or squeeze jars, where volumes are high and designs are standardized. But when your product or process requires unique handling, standard solutions quickly break down.

A common example of this shortfall involves case loading. You can easily purchase an off-the-shelf case former, but that machine won’t address critical secondary steps:

• How do you automatically load the product into the case?
• How do you insert specialized items like a slip sheet, hardware, or instruction manual?
• How is the case sealed and labeled?

This need for end-to-end integration drives the demand for customization.

Case Study: The Adirondack Chair Challenge

Consider the complexity of packaging assembled items that are shipped flat-pack, like Adirondack chairs. While the individual components (back, base, legs) are assembled, they are not connected to each other, requiring the customer to complete the final eight or ten bolts.  This also required assembly instructions to be placed into the final packaging with the components.

There was no off-the-shelf solution designed to package these large chair components into a large cardboard box. For this reason, robots were employed to pick up the parts, orient them into the necessary stack configuration, and place them inside the box. The system also incorporated instruction feeding, case sealing (closing the case and applying tape), and subsequently transferred the heavy boxes to a robotic palletizing cell. If you have a process like this one of packaging flat-pack furniture, front to back, you can easily see your need of a custom automated solution.

The Core of Customization: Material Handling and Quality Control

Custom automation is typically driven by the material-handling aspect. Because your product is unique or irregular, the process of touching the part and moving it—whether putting it into a bag, a box or a bundling machine—requires a customized approach.

Another major driver for customization is the need for inline inspection or testing. When you transition from manual packaging to automation, the human “eyes on” inspection is lost. The automation must include technology to verify that all components are present.

For example, an assembly cell built for LED lights included multiple inline tests before packaging: a Hi pot test, a power factor test, and a machine vision inspection to ensure all diodes illuminated. This verification process ensures quality control. If a light claims to be nine watts, the automation verifies it meets the required tolerance range before it is boxed and labeled. Automation ensures that 100% of boxes are verified to have all items, eliminating potential human error.

Preparing for Success: What to Do Before Calling an Integrator

Before seeking a vendor or integrator, your business must ensure that you have adopted an “automation mindset.”

1. Packaging Design is Critical: Integrators will ask if your boxes are designed for automation. Companies that use hand-formed, slot-and-tab boxes (which require manual clicking together) must take a holistic view of their packaging. Automation generally works best with designs that utilize tape or glue for sealing. Attempting to automate packaging that is not automation-friendly is riskier and significantly more expensive.
2. Consider Palletizing: While customers may not always think of the final steps, palletizing should always be considered. Robotic palletizing is highly commoditized and is often a low-risk piece of automation to implement, making it a “grand slam home run” in terms of ROI.

The Integrator Checklist: Questions You Must Answer

To ensure a successful partnership, you need to define your goals and be ready to answer tough questions. Integrators need clarity to build a concept that prioritizes your needs.

Key questions an integrator will ask include:

1. Throughput Requirements: How fast do you want to go? This defines the required speed and the budget, as the ROI is often calculated based on how many operators on how many shifts you are replacing.
2. Process Flow: Are you automating the whole thing, or do you intend to retain manual steps? If a human must be placed between automation cells (to insert an instruction sheet, for instance), the integrator must select equipment that is safe for that human interaction.
3. Dunnage and Contents: Do we have to handle dunnage, slip sheets, bags, hardware, instruction sheets, or installation sheets? What is included in the box?
4. Special Handling Requirements: Are there specific touch points on the product that automation should avoid to prevent scratching or damage?
5. Internal Resources: Do you have resources to support automation? This means having technical personnel on staff who can handle basic PLC programming or recover a cell when it faults. Without this internal knowledge, relying solely on an integrator (who may have a 24-hour response time) can lead to significant downtime.
6. Timeline Expectations: Are you prepared for the required lead time? A highly complex automation cell could take 50 weeks to deploy, while a more straightforward one might take 24 weeks.

Your Next Step Toward Smarter Packaging Automation

To move forward successfully, you must have your performance expectations—especially regarding quality and throughput—defined. In the world of custom packaging, hope is not a plan. Detailed planning and communication with your integrator are the only ways to guarantee success.

If you need help automating a packaging process, talk with the experts at Adaptive Innovations.