Sitma ready for LogiMAT after Milan success

Having very successfully concluded IPACK-IMA, the first in-person edition after almost three years, Sitma is now ready for LogiMAT (Stand C46 in Hall 5).

The event – a must for the intralogistics and e-commerce world – will be held from 31 May to 2nd June in Stuttgart, where the Sitma team will keep on focusing on its brand new Paper E-Wrap (pictured), the packaging wrapper with paper that already attracted great interest in Milan.

LogiMAT is a key step in Sitma’s strategy, which is fully committed to developing turnkey solutions for the e-commerce sector.

The aspects most appreciated about the semi-automatic Paper E-Wrap solution for e-commerce packaging are:

  • Compact design: with a footprint just over 5 metres, the machine comes with a power supply, a packaging feature and labelling device. It immediately stands out for its modern and modular design with small overall dimensions.
  • Simple process and use: just place the products on the feeder belt and the machine takes care of the rest: it reads the barcode, sends label printing and application inputs, measures the 3 dimensions of the product(s) fed and packages – and Bob’s your uncle.
  • Sustainable: it works with heat-sealing paper, which therefore does not require additional glue. The result is a fully recyclable package.
  • Customisable: depending on the different production needs, it is able to manage either single or multiple products, it can print promotional and/or administrative documents in-line and automatically add them to the order. Plus, it can come with scales and labelling systems.
  • Suitable for any industry: with the Paper E-Wrap you can package objects and products from different e-commerce sectors, such as clothing and footwear, books and media, and consumer electronics  – versatility is the key word.

Sitma’s offer for the logistics sector does not just include cutting-edge machines such as E-Wrap, previewed in Milan. It also comprises a wide range of sorting systems that are ideal for automating modern logistics centres. Wrapper’s portfolio includes units featuring top performance levels such as Fast Pack, which – depending on the type of object to be packaged – can reach up to 3,600 pieces/hour.

Along with their ergonomic design and high degree of flexibility, a feature shared by Sitma’s range of wrappers is once again the ability to create packages based on their contents. This allows for optimisation in terms of space and materials, a gain for both customers and for the environment.

Today, Sitma says it has unique know-how in using paper-based materials, which allows it to offer its customers an alternative to traditional plastic film employed for packaging purposes. Forty years of experience in packaging have also given it a mechanical expertise that stands as a benchmark in the automation sector and allows the company to develop customised solutions that are both high-tech and highly flexible. Its current expertise does not just stem from decades of experience, but also from its forward-looking approach to the market. This has always led the company not only to follow, but to anticipate trends. This is why Sitma was among the first companies in the sector to develop e-commerce solutions, which have now given it a competitive edge.

 

Sitma ready for LogiMAT after Milan success

Having very successfully concluded IPACK-IMA, the first in-person edition after almost three years, Sitma is now ready for LogiMAT (Stand C46 in Hall 5).

The event – a must for the intralogistics and e-commerce world – will be held from 31 May to 2nd June in Stuttgart, where the Sitma team will keep on focusing on its brand new Paper E-Wrap (pictured), the packaging wrapper with paper that already attracted great interest in Milan.

LogiMAT is a key step in Sitma’s strategy, which is fully committed to developing turnkey solutions for the e-commerce sector.

The aspects most appreciated about the semi-automatic Paper E-Wrap solution for e-commerce packaging are:

  • Compact design: with a footprint just over 5 metres, the machine comes with a power supply, a packaging feature and labelling device. It immediately stands out for its modern and modular design with small overall dimensions.
  • Simple process and use: just place the products on the feeder belt and the machine takes care of the rest: it reads the barcode, sends label printing and application inputs, measures the 3 dimensions of the product(s) fed and packages – and Bob’s your uncle.
  • Sustainable: it works with heat-sealing paper, which therefore does not require additional glue. The result is a fully recyclable package.
  • Customisable: depending on the different production needs, it is able to manage either single or multiple products, it can print promotional and/or administrative documents in-line and automatically add them to the order. Plus, it can come with scales and labelling systems.
  • Suitable for any industry: with the Paper E-Wrap you can package objects and products from different e-commerce sectors, such as clothing and footwear, books and media, and consumer electronics  – versatility is the key word.

Sitma’s offer for the logistics sector does not just include cutting-edge machines such as E-Wrap, previewed in Milan. It also comprises a wide range of sorting systems that are ideal for automating modern logistics centres. Wrapper’s portfolio includes units featuring top performance levels such as Fast Pack, which – depending on the type of object to be packaged – can reach up to 3,600 pieces/hour.

Along with their ergonomic design and high degree of flexibility, a feature shared by Sitma’s range of wrappers is once again the ability to create packages based on their contents. This allows for optimisation in terms of space and materials, a gain for both customers and for the environment.

Today, Sitma says it has unique know-how in using paper-based materials, which allows it to offer its customers an alternative to traditional plastic film employed for packaging purposes. Forty years of experience in packaging have also given it a mechanical expertise that stands as a benchmark in the automation sector and allows the company to develop customised solutions that are both high-tech and highly flexible. Its current expertise does not just stem from decades of experience, but also from its forward-looking approach to the market. This has always led the company not only to follow, but to anticipate trends. This is why Sitma was among the first companies in the sector to develop e-commerce solutions, which have now given it a competitive edge.

 

NORD presents innovative drive solutions at LogiMAT

The specialist LogiMAT exhibition in Stuttgart offers a comprehensive overview of the intralogistics and process management market, and as one of the market leaders for drive technology, NORD will be there to present its solutions for the industry. The exhibition highlights include the revolutionary and patented DuoDrive geared motor, the highly efficient IE5+ synchronous motor, the NORDAC ON/ON+ decentralised frequency inverter (pictured), as well as an intelligent concept for status-oriented maintenance according to Industry 4.0.

Modern automated intralogistics systems place high demands on drives in horizontal as well as vertical conveyor technology. NORD Drivesystems provide the industry with innovative drive solutions, combining reliability with profitability. The DuoDrive is setting new standards for intralogistics. The innovative and patented geared motor integrates a high-efficiency IE5+ synchronous motor into the single-stage helical gear unit housing. This not only guarantees a compact size and minimal noise emissions but also high power density and overall high system efficiency. Together with its simple plug-and-play commissioning, the complete DuoDrive solution results in a significant reduction in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to other drive systems.

Economic Solution for IIoT environments

The decentralised NORDAC ON/ON+ frequency inverter was specially developed by NORD for the requirements of horizontal conveyor technology. An integrated Ethernet interface, full pluggability and a very compact design make it the smart inverter for decentralised use in Intralogistics. The frequency inverter can be mounted directly on the drive housing and covers lower power ranges of up to 1.0kW. The combination with the IE5+ synchronous motor (NORDAC ON+) enables significant efficiency potential.

Downtime avoidance is also one of the decisive targets in intralogistics. To increase system availability, NORD has designed “Condition Monitoring For Predictive Maintenance”. The integrated PLC in NORD frequency inverters can process data in connected sensors and actuators, initiate autonomous control sequences and communicate drive and application data to the control centre, networked components or to cloud storage. This allows continuous condition monitoring and therefore forms the basis for predictive maintenance concepts as well as optimum plant dimensioning. Impermissible operating states can be recognised early, unplanned downtimes can be avoided and maintenance becomes predictive.

These and more drive solutions will be presented by NORD Drivesystems from 31st May to 2nd June 2022 at LogiMAT in Stuttgart (Stand D10 in Hall 03).

NORD presents innovative drive solutions at LogiMAT

The specialist LogiMAT exhibition in Stuttgart offers a comprehensive overview of the intralogistics and process management market, and as one of the market leaders for drive technology, NORD will be there to present its solutions for the industry. The exhibition highlights include the revolutionary and patented DuoDrive geared motor, the highly efficient IE5+ synchronous motor, the NORDAC ON/ON+ decentralised frequency inverter (pictured), as well as an intelligent concept for status-oriented maintenance according to Industry 4.0.

Modern automated intralogistics systems place high demands on drives in horizontal as well as vertical conveyor technology. NORD Drivesystems provide the industry with innovative drive solutions, combining reliability with profitability. The DuoDrive is setting new standards for intralogistics. The innovative and patented geared motor integrates a high-efficiency IE5+ synchronous motor into the single-stage helical gear unit housing. This not only guarantees a compact size and minimal noise emissions but also high power density and overall high system efficiency. Together with its simple plug-and-play commissioning, the complete DuoDrive solution results in a significant reduction in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to other drive systems.

Economic Solution for IIoT environments

The decentralised NORDAC ON/ON+ frequency inverter was specially developed by NORD for the requirements of horizontal conveyor technology. An integrated Ethernet interface, full pluggability and a very compact design make it the smart inverter for decentralised use in Intralogistics. The frequency inverter can be mounted directly on the drive housing and covers lower power ranges of up to 1.0kW. The combination with the IE5+ synchronous motor (NORDAC ON+) enables significant efficiency potential.

Downtime avoidance is also one of the decisive targets in intralogistics. To increase system availability, NORD has designed “Condition Monitoring For Predictive Maintenance”. The integrated PLC in NORD frequency inverters can process data in connected sensors and actuators, initiate autonomous control sequences and communicate drive and application data to the control centre, networked components or to cloud storage. This allows continuous condition monitoring and therefore forms the basis for predictive maintenance concepts as well as optimum plant dimensioning. Impermissible operating states can be recognised early, unplanned downtimes can be avoided and maintenance becomes predictive.

These and more drive solutions will be presented by NORD Drivesystems from 31st May to 2nd June 2022 at LogiMAT in Stuttgart (Stand D10 in Hall 03).

Smart scanning software set to be a game-changer

In logistics, the flow of information matters as much as the flow of goods. The advent of barcode scanning software that can run on multiple types of camera-enabled, smart devices is set to be a game-changer.

Logistics starts with orders. Increasingly, these orders are being generated by apps on smartphones with integrated barcode software to scan items, catalogues and lists. These apps are created by suppliers to run on almost any smartphone or tablet. Using the app generates an order that passes to fulfilment.

At the heart of fulfilment is the warehouse and distribution centre. The tracking of shipments through these centres used to be done with heavy, expensive, handheld computers and scanners. Their value was limited by the small numbers of these special devices available in each site. Barcode scanning software solves this problem by running on different devices wherever needed. Low-priced Android smartphones can be supplied to every worker for regular or occasional manual scanning and can be scaled-up quickly for peak.  Fixed ‘gate’ or camera portals in receiving can scan pallet or parcel labels as they are unloaded. Forklifts with cameras can scan pallets as they are moved and scan the location barcodes at putaway.

Fixed cameras can scan barcodes on items moving on conveyors and in automated storage systems. Robots and drones can perform continuous inventory counts and highlight errors. Picking robots or cobots, with camera scanning, help find and pick inventory or verify the items being picked. Warehouse managers who have implemented these new scanning technologies know that their WMS system can then be trusted to be a true digital image of the warehouse and the information leveraged to reduce warehouse costs, and better serve both suppliers and customers.

At the end of the chain, goods are delivered to customers. Delivery methods continue to expand and they now include Pick-Up and Drop-Off (PUDO), Buy Online Pick-up In-Store (BOPIS), part load, pallet delivery and, of course, last-mile, parcel delivery. In all of these, barcodes are scanned to ensure the items match the order and to provide confirmation of delivery. Here again, smartphones and apps are becoming the standard tools to control these processes at very modest costs (especially if the hardware is a BYOD model).

The right hardware for camera scanning is relatively easy to find. Smartphones with scanning apps are already very able scanning platforms. For fixed and robotics solutions, industrial cameras with standard single board PCs or Jetson-type industrial computers running Linux provide the solution. The hardware is generic and so can be easily sourced. Even alternative second sources can be specified – a significant advantage compared to dedicated barcode scanners that by their nature are single sourced.

While finding the hardware is relatively easy, the barcode scanning software itself still has a tough job to do given the particular demands of this industry and its often-difficult environmental conditions. Dirty, damaged, marked barcode labels and the large distances between cameras and barcodes (especially in warehouses) add particular scanning challenges. Also, many of the above solutions require reading multibarcode shipping labels and multiple labels per image (as on a full pallet of marked items). Whatever the conditions, the barcode scanning software must read all of the barcodes, all the time, in any orientation.

Viziotix barcode software provides fast, efficient and accurate scanning on all of these different devices. Advanced computer-vision algorithms work on the high-resolution cameras used in nearly all smartphones and automation solutions, and provide higher scanning performance than the old dedicated barcode equipment – often with more than 5% higher read rates and up to 10x faster scan times. With high read rates, long-distance scanning and the ability to scan 10s or 100s of barcodes in a single image, Viziotix is ideal for these manual and automation applications. Whole pallets can be read in one scan by a gate-reader. Smartphones can scan multiple parcels for sortation and van loading in one scan. Robots and drones can quickly scan thousands of locations as they move around the aisles of a warehouse.

“We are leading the digitisation of the warehouse and logistics chain,” says Cedric Mollon, CEO at Viziotix. “Errorfree logistics is now a real, attainable goal and there are considerable, measurable, cost savings in eliminating errors, lost shipments, cycle-counts and manual corrective actions. Not to mention the value generated by the resulting better customer service. Our barcode scanning software is enabling all kinds of new solutions at every touchpoint in the logistics chain.”

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