News

Posted On: 10/22/2004

Opening Up Packaging Machine Control

For the past few years, the OMAC (Open Modular Architecture Controls) Plug-and-Pack Workgroup has been working to promote open controls for packaging machinery. Its efforts reached a critical point two years ago, when the group decided to coordinate its efforts with the World Batch Forum, extending the S88 Batch Control model to its PackML model, allowing S88-based software to be used for packaging machine control.

S88 had already improved communication between pharmaceutical company IT and the plant floor, and is changing the way that many drug companies approach plant and process design and validation (for more, read Nick Basta’s update in the November/December issue of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing).

Even though packaging control is discrete, unlike batch process control, adoption of S88 would improve the coordination between production and packaging at pharmaceutical plants.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing interviewed OMAC Committee Member Mike Wagner, manager of business development at Rockwell Automation, for his thoughts.

PM – What impact do you see S-88 having on pharmaceutical packaging?

MW – It’s not having an impact yet, but it will. I’ve been with OMAC for four years, and am currently part of team working on Part V of the S88/PackML mapping, which would extend S88 to discrete skid mounted equipment.

Two years ago we saw that working with the World Batch Forum and S88 would allow us to move forward with open standards instead of having to reinvent the wheel. We’re using the existing standard as a base to build upon.

In the packaging industry, there have been as many ways to design a control system interface as there are vendors. OEMs all have their own technology. S88 will allow OEMs to maintain their own intellectual property, yet provide value. Intead of having to worry about communication protocols to their pharma customers’ MES programs, they can focus on their expertise in packaging.

At Rockwell, for example, we’re using OMAC PacML version 2.1 guidelines for new product development. The new S88/Pack ML model will allow us to develop control systems and hardware unencumbered, and to anticipate the needs of the OEM.

PM – What projects are you working on now?

MW – We’ve developed some new packaging systems with Bosch, which we will introduce at Pack Expo.

PM – What challenges will barcoding and RFID pose to packaging machine control

MW – At the case level, RFID will work, but there are a number of issues to resolve if the technology is to be brought to the product level. One issue is frequency. Another is interference--there are so many wireless devices being used today, from cell phones to WIFI cards, and FCC hasn’t caught up with these issues yet.

The major challenge to packaging control equipment design will be HMI development. It’s a very complex problem. There are questions of graphical interfaces, and the number of images that need to be maintained. We also need tracking features for security and equipment lock-down. For some of our projects, up to 80% of development time goes to HMI design. For now, for all parties concerned, bar coding is definitely the easier way to go.

For more information about the new Bosch/Rockwell products, click here.