The adaptive machineYour competitive advantage

Smaller batches, shorter product lifecycles and a shift toward online shopping –Today’s consumer packaged goods companies face unprecedented challenges
that require unprecedented flexibility. That’s why today’s most innovative OEMs arebuilding a whole new breed of manufacturing technology: the adaptive machine.
Machines that adapt to different products and packaging automatically and on
the fly – but what exactly is it that makes a machine adaptive? And what does
it take to go from cutting-edge technology to your competitive advantage?

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

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Contents
The new consumer.....................................................04
4 challenges to master..............................................05
4 ways adaptability can help....................................06
4 technologies to make it happen...........................07
4 solutions available today.......................................08
Your partner for the adaptive machine........................09
Adaptive machines in action....................................10
Your competitive advantage.....................................15

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

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The new consumer
Today’s consumers expect to get the products they want, when they wantthem – often personalized to their individual tastes and preferences.
With a generational shift in values and expectations comes a whole
new set of challenges and opportunities.

XLL
MXSS

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage04

4 challenges to master< Product proliferation< Mass customization

Consumer packaged goods companies face four main challenges.

< Unpredictable demand fluctation
The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage< Shorter product lifecycles05

4 factors of adaptability< Zero-downtime changeover< Profitable small-batch production

These challenges are driving the evolution of a whole new breed ofmanufacturing system: the adaptive machine. There are four key characteristics that set these machines apart from their predecessors.

< Accelerated product time-to-market
The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage< Ready for unknown future products06

4 technologies to make it possible
The adaptive machine emerges from a synergy of new and existing technologies. The four with the greatest impact are:Track-based transportIntelligent track systems enable independent control of each product’s movement
through the manufacturing process.

Machine vision
Machine vision cameras automatically detect the shape, size and orientation of eachproduct and pass that information on to arobot in less than a millisecond.

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

RobotsAided by machine vision, robots pick up
products and place them on a track system shuttle with lightning speed.

Digital twins
An exact copy of the machine in digitalform makes it possible to produce new
products with virtually zero downtime orphysical prototyping.

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4 solutions available today
This is more than just a dream. The technologies that enable the adaptive machine are available now from B&R:

ACOPOStrak
The intelligent track system’s uniqueelectromagnetic diverters split and merge
product flows at full production speed.

Integrated machine vision
Fully integrated in the control system,
B&R’s machine vision enables synchronization with microsecond precision.

Machine-centric robotics
B&R is the only controls manufacturer
with a portfolio of fully integrated robots.

Comprehensive simulation
Design, develop and diagnose without
the cost and risk of hardware prototyping
using a full array of B&R and 3rd-party
simulation tools.

B&R also has a complete automation portfolio of PLCs, I/O systems, industrial PCs, safety, motion control and easy-to-use automation software.

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

08Your partner forthe adaptive machineYour partner for the adaptive machine.

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

are

tw

reaThe expertise to make it happen.

TechnologyPartnerSofThe technology to make it possible.

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In addition to cutting-edge hardware and software,
B&R customers also benefit from 40 years of automation
expertise. A global network of local sales and engineering
teams accompany customers through every step of theirproject – from conceptual design to after sales support.

Expertise09

Adaptive machines in action

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

10Changeover
Ronchi Mario S.p.A

Designed for fast and frequent automated changeovers, the adaptive bottle unscrambler from Ronchi feeds bottles randomly to vision-guided robots. The robots pick, orient and place bottles onto
an intelligent track system, where the independently controlled

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

shuttles are paired to serve as infinitely variable sized pucks accommodating rigid plastic containers of virtually any shape andsize. Changeovers are pushbutton fast and fully automated, withno tools, change parts or human intervention required.

11Flexibility
Makro Labelling S.r.l.

Makro’s adaptive labeler utilizes two intelligent tracks – top andbottom – one securing bottle necks and exerting downward pressure, the other using synchronized pairs of shuttles, to serve as
bottle plates and provide rotation for label application.

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

The Makro rotary labeler uses dual tracks to adjust container andlabel size on the fly. And because the track systems are modular,
labeling stations can be readily added to increase capacity or run
multiple container/label/adhesive configurations. Shuttles andstations can also be skipped for maintenance or replenishment.

12Performance
JLS Automation

An adaptive cartoning system from JLS Automation uses vision-guided robots to load various sized cartons, on demand, to pairs of shuttles on an intelligent track system. Pairing the independently con-The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantagetrolled shuttles allows the adaptive machine to adjust on the fly todifferent carton sizes, effectively achieving batch-size-one packaging. No tooling changes or change parts are required.

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Personalization
Krones“Bottling on demand” is an adaptive machine concept from
Krones capable of batch-size-one formulation, filling, colorcoded capping and labeling for beverage lines. It delivers an unprecedented ability to fulfill consumer demand for personalized
flavors, portion sizes and even labeling with consumers’ names.

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

Each bottle is carried through the process by an independently
controlled shuttle on an intelligent track system. Bottling on
demand allows shipment of highly customized rainbow packs
directly from the production line – eliminating the inefficient
process of manually unpacking and repacking.

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Your competitive advantage

The adaptive machine gives producers and packagers 4 decisive advantages:

Changeover
Change formats automatically on the fly – even after every
product – with no compromise in productivity.

Performance
From rigidly sequential to dynamically responsive – discover
new dimensions of efficiency and productivity.

Flexibility
Build flexible machines able to produce as-yet-unknown
products at any time.

Personalization
Easily handle the unprecedented levels of product personalizationthat come with the rise of e-commerce.

The adaptive machine: Your competitive advantage

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Join us for a live 1-on-1 session
to explore your adaptive future
B&R
Industrial Automation GmbH

B&R Strasse 15142 Eggelsberg, Austriat +43 7748 6586-0
f +43 7748 6586-26

office@br-automation.com
www.br-automation.com

Your local contact
www.br-automation.com/contact

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