Dansensor Helps Moving Towards Industry 4.0
Dansensor can help the move towards Industry 4.0 in Modified Atmosphere Packaging
Dansensor, the Denmark-based manufacturer of state-of-the-art equipment for the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) sector, can help people to achieve their goals for Industry 4.0.
The concept of Industry 4.0 is rapidly gaining traction. It is shorthand for the ‘fourth industrial revolution’, and refers to the computerisation of industry to produce intelligent manufacturing processes with a high degree of automation, continuous process monitoring and high levels of quality assurance.
The last decade has already seen huge advances in automated process control within MAP. Ten years ago a single packaging machine would typically require several operators to monitor the process and make adjustments as necessary. Now the situation has reversed: a single operator can attend to several machines, which in turn now run at much higher speeds.
Dansensor’s latest gas-mixing technology and in-line gas analysers typify the move towards intelligent processing in MAP. The revolutionary MAP Mix Provectus uses state-of-the-art technology, allowing for simple programming and adjustment of the gas mixture, which is continuously monitored. The MAP Mix Provectus is more efficient at ensuring the correct gas mixture than conventional gas mixers, resulting in higher accuracy for the gas mixture and therefore significantly less down-time when compared to conventional mixers.
Similarly, the gas mixture entering the packaging line can be continuously monitored by Dansensor’s MAP Check 3 in-line gas analyser. The MAP Check 3 ensures that a preset target for the gas content target is achieved, resulting in stable production. If for some reasons the analyser is not able to reach the target it will alert the operator, and if necessary stop the line. Significantly in the context of Industry 4.0, the MAP Mix Provectus and the MAP Check 3 can operate in tandem and can communicate electronically. If the MAP Check 3 detects that the mixture is falling outside the predetermined limits it can ‘instruct’ the MAP Mix Provectus to alter the gas flow rate accordingly to restore the required gas flushing levels within the packing chamber. Both machines can also communicate with external IT systems for data logging and control.
“In terms of MAP, Industry 4.0 is all about automated systems that allow continuous process monitoring and self-regulation to achieve high levels of efficiency and quality assurance,” says Dansensor’s Director of Sales and Marketing Karsten Kejlhof. “Here at Dansensor we are experts in this area and have helped many customers to achieve their Industry 4.0 goals towards automating the whole MAP process. We will be present at the Anuga FoodTec fair in Cologne and we invite anyone with an interest in this area to come and talk to us.”