Zhenjiang, a famous cultural city in the south of the Yangtze River that combines classical charm and modern vitality, has always been famous for its profound historical and cultural heritage and modern industrial development. On September 20, 2024, the "Digital Intelligence Empowerment, Leading a New Era of Pharmaceutical Packaging-Pharmaceutical Packaging Intelligent Solutions Seminar and" was co-organized by BOBST, Yiyao Printing, Lingyunguang, Jingjun Technology, and hhs Yiyao Printing Intelligent Factory Open Day" event was held grandly in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu and achieved a complete success.
This conference gathered big names and was rich in content. Many industry experts offered their opinions and suggestions around "intelligent solutions for pharmaceutical packaging", discussed new ideas for corporate growth, and jointly studied new journeys for industrial cooperation, injecting insights into pharmaceutical packaging companies from all over the country. New energy. As an important part of the pharmaceutical industry chain, how should pharmaceutical packaging companies grasp the new trends in the industry, seize the commanding heights of development, and establish digital and intelligent factories? This "Pharmaceutical Packaging Intelligent Solutions Seminar and Yiyao Printing Smart Factory Open Day" event is an in-depth exploration journey on "How to build a pharmaceutical packaging smart factory".
At the beginning of the event, Mr. Huang Jinping, Marketing Director of Bobst Greater China, delivered a speech. On behalf of the organizer, he expressed his heartfelt thanks and sincere welcome to the guests present. At the same time, he also said that this event has received strong support from many partners. It is the brainstorming and mutual cooperation of many high-quality suppliers in the industry that can finally find a path suitable for the digital and intelligent development of pharmaceutical packaging enterprises. In the future, BOBST hopes to work with more customers and partners to lead the development of the industry with technological innovation and help pharmaceutical packaging companies intelligently upgrade through collaborative cooperation.
Let’s talk about pharmaceutical packaging, current situation and trends
According to statistics from the China Packaging Federation, in 2023, my country's packaging industry will show a trend of vigorous development. The number of designated enterprises increased by 34% compared with 2019, reaching 10,632, and the main business revenue exceeded 1,153.9 billion yuan. Driven by the wave of digitalization, the packaging industry is undergoing profound changes, and companies are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities.
In her speech, Ms. Cao Guorong, deputy secretary-general of the China Packaging Federation and professor of Beijing Institute of Graphic Arts, gave an in-depth analysis of the current status and development trends of the packaging industry with the title "Folding Carton Standardization and Sustainable Development Prospects". She presented the audience with a comprehensive picture of the industry from multiple dimensions such as industry data, standard setting, and technological innovation. Professor Cao emphasized that innovation is the source of enterprise development, standardization is the guarantee of innovation, and green and sustainable development is the general trend of the future.
Regarding the development direction of enterprises, Professor Cao gave the following suggestions: "As for the development momentum of enterprises, I think it is mainly reflected in three aspects: the first is to continue to innovate; the second is to move towards digitalization, intelligence and greening. The direction of transformation and upgrading; the third point is to open cooperation and continuously improve the upstream and downstream industrial chains of existing businesses through independent research and development and technical cooperation to promote high-quality development of enterprises. "
"For pharmaceutical packaging companies, in addition to intelligent production, they must also focus on the green transformation of materials and start building their own green supply chains. For example, from the perspective of green inks, the current market mainly contains some alcohols Use micro-ink soybeans, soybean offset inks, water-based varnishes, etc. In addition, it is also necessary to strengthen the standardization of pharmaceutical packaging solutions, such as anti-counterfeiting technology for pharmaceutical packaging. Currently, it mainly includes design anti-counterfeiting, process anti-counterfeiting, and optical. There are many types of anti-counterfeiting, digital information anti-counterfeiting, etc. Recently we have just passed a national standard, which is about the anti-tampering of folding paper and medicine packages for medical packaging. I think there will be more and more national standards for medical packaging in the future. , this is also worthy of everyone’s attention,” Professor Cao Guorong shared.
Jointly assist industrial upgrading, innovation and empowerment
Driven by the wave of intelligent manufacturing, the printing and packaging industry is accelerating its transformation to intelligence. By building smart factories, companies can not only significantly improve production efficiency and product quality, but also lay a solid foundation for future development. However, the construction of smart factories is not easy. It requires the cooperation of upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain. At this event, industry leading companies such as BOBST, Lingyunguang, Jingjun Technology, hhs, etc. gathered together to share their innovative achievements and solutions in the field of intelligent manufacturing.
In his speech, Mr. Chen Jiajun, die-cutting and foil stamping business development manager of Bobst’s Printing and Post-Processing Division, gave an in-depth analysis of the special needs of the pharmaceutical industry for the die-cutting and foil stamping process. He emphasized that intelligence and automation are the keys to improving the quality of pharmaceutical packaging products. As an industry-leading equipment supplier, Bobst has been committed to providing customers with efficient and reliable solutions. He focused on BOBST's technological innovations in the field of die-cutting, such as precision registration, fully scrapped die-cutting, fully automatic logistics systems, etc. These technologies can significantly improve production efficiency and product accuracy. In addition, he also introduced BOBST's world-leading hot stamping technology and products in the field of pharmaceutical packaging.
Die-cutting is an important part of pharmaceutical packaging production, and the box-gluing process has a direct impact on the final appearance and quality of the product. In his speech, Mr. Li Gang, engineer of Bobst Technology Demonstration Center, introduced Bobst’s full range of folder-gluer solutions in detail. He took the BOBST MEILONG 4.0 folder-gluing machine and its related supporting equipment, such as the EASYFEEDER automatic paper feeder, the CARTonPACK 4 automatic cartoning machine and the VIEWCHECK online quality inspection system, as examples to demonstrate the application of this equipment in pharmaceutical packaging production. Advantages, such as high speed, stability, zero defects, etc.
Mr. Li Qiang, manager of the smart factory department of Lingyun Optical Technology Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote speech on "Smart Factory Solutions for Pharmaceutical Packaging". He shared that Ling Yunguang and Yiyao Printing began cooperating in 2023, and successfully completed the construction and commissioning of the new factory in less than a year. This new factory takes quality management as its core. By deeply integrating the GMQM quality inspection system and data acquisition system with information systems such as ERP, MES, and WMS, it has realized the digitization and intelligence of the production process, effectively improving product quality and production efficiency. . At present, Lingyun Optical's intelligent products and solutions have been widely used in many fields, and have formed a product system based on "one foundation (standardization) and three cores".
Mr. Yu Jianguo, deputy general manager of Beijing Jingjun Technology Co., Ltd., focused on Jingjun Technology’s solutions in the field of pharmaceutical packaging inkjet coding. He introduced the development history of Jingjun Technology to the guests present, and comprehensively introduced Jingjun Technology's main product series and supporting services. Among them, Jingjun SF7800 is a high-speed, high-precision sheet-fed variable data inkjet printing equipment specially developed for high-end applications in the packaging industry. It uses industrial-grade nozzles with a physical resolution of up to 1200dpi and a positioning accuracy of ±0.15mm. , can achieve high-precision and high-quality inkjet printing, especially in single-fed paper application scenarios, it can achieve high-speed and stable production of up to 150m/min, and can also meet the production needs of new versions of drug supervision codes. In addition, Yu Jianguo also demonstrated the upgraded version of this product-SF8800 high-speed sheet-fed inkjet printer.
Subsequently, Mr. Xie Xin, product manager of Baumer Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., brought the product display of "hhs Pharmaceutical Packaging Production Solution" to everyone. As a German company specializing in glue spray systems and detection systems, hhs can provide pharmaceutical packaging companies with everything from factory-level Xfeed centralized glue supply systems, to Xmelt system hot melt glue tanks and spray guns, to the final point spray control. and glue quality inspection system, hhs can protect customers' production through full production line solutions.
As we all know, good equipment with first-class performance is just a starting point. How to protect this investment and continue to improve production capacity is the real challenge facing packaging companies. As the final guest of this event, Mr. Hu Qing, Service Market Sales Manager of the Greater China Region of BOBST's Service & Efficiency Division, gave a wonderful sharing. He introduced how BOBST helps the development of pharmaceutical package companies through high-quality services.
"Bobst's Service and Performance Division mainly supports customers in all aspects to maximize return on investment through five major services - preparation, production, response, maintenance and optimization. Our service departments are all localized teams and have a better understanding of China. It can respond to customer needs more quickly and flexibly according to the needs of the market and users," Hu Qing said.
Exploring smart factories together to improve quality and efficiency
In an era full of challenges and opportunities, Yiyao Printing (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. has built China's first smart pharmaceutical packaging factory. Through many measures such as standardization of production management, digitization of production processes, and intelligent quality inspection, it has continuously improved quality and added value. Effectively, we will make steady and long-term progress on the road of high-quality development.
In his speech, Mr. Zheng Jian, deputy general manager of Yiyao Printing (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., shared in detail the company's development history and intelligent construction achievements. He introduced that Yiyao Printing (Jiangsu) Factory was established in 2023 and has now fully completed factory renovation and equipment debugging. The company’s development vision is to become a first-class intelligent pharmaceutical packaging production base in China.
Mr. Zheng emphasized: “The construction of Yiyao Printing Smart Factory mainly uses digital technology to reshape the existing printing and packaging production process, deploying digital management systems such as ERP, MES, and APS, as well as full-process automated logistics systems and warehousing systems. It has realized the entire process of automation, digitalization and network operation from design, plate making, printing to post-press processing, and strives to build a leading intelligent pharmaceutical packaging production base in China.”
In the afternoon, the "Yiyao Printing Intelligent Factory Open Day" event was even more exciting and dazzling. Under the leadership of the organizer, everyone visited Yiyao Printing’s office environment, smart warehousing and fully automatic production workshops. While everyone was amazed at the advanced internal management of Yiyao Printing’s smart factory, they were also fascinated by the digital intelligence in front of them. Shocked by the equipment and facilities.
In the production workshop, participants watched the Jingjun Technology SF7800 sheet-fed inkjet printer, Bobst SP 106 AER die-cutting machine, Bobst MEILONG 4.0 all-in-one inspection machine and Lingyunguang’s box-gluing back-end automatic production line demonstration.
Highlight 1: Jingjun Technology
Jingjun Technology SF7800 high-speed sheet-fed inkjet printer is a high-speed, high-precision sheet-fed variable data inkjet printing equipment customized and developed for high-end applications in the packaging industry. It is mainly used to achieve offline sheet-fed variable data coding. (Including various variable information such as one-dimensional codes, two-dimensional codes, text graphics, etc.).
The high-speed inkjet printing system at the core of the Jingjun Technology SF7800 high-speed sheet-fed inkjet printer uses industrial-grade piezoelectric nozzles and is manufactured through advanced silicon micro-electromechanical technology. The printing frequency is as high as 100kHz. With 1200dpi high resolution and 2.4pl ultra-fine Technical advantages such as ink droplets, multi-level grayscale printing, and circulating ink supply bring excellent printing quality. Combined with the stable paper feeding environment provided by the full-servo high-speed sheet-fed platform, it can achieve high-quality, high-speed and stable production up to 150m/min.
In addition, Jingjun Technology's SF7800 high-speed sheet-fed inkjet printer also has the advantages of high automation, simple operation, and easy maintenance, providing users with convenient, efficient, and reliable printing solutions.
Highlight 2: Bobst
At present, Jiangsu Yiyao Printing has introduced a number of advanced equipment from BOBST, including 2 SP 106 AER die-cutting machines, 1 SP 104 BMH hot stamping machine, and 2 BOBST MEILONG machines with online quality inspection systems. 4.0 folder-gluing machine, and a MEILONG 4.0 integrated machine with online quality inspection VIEWCHECK visual inspection system.
Among them, the Bobst SP 106 AER die-cutting machine is equipped with the ACCUREIGSTER precision registration system. This technology originated from the POWER REGISTER system launched by Bobst 20 years ago and has become more mature and stable after years of development. The ACCUREIGSTER system enables extremely fast setup times during the die-cutting process and significantly reduces downtime due to paper feeding, thereby significantly improving production efficiency and product quality. This efficient and precise die-cutting performance fully demonstrates BOBST’s leading position in the field of die-cutting technology.
MEILONG 4.0 series folder-gluing machine is a fully automatic folder-gluing machine with powerful functions and excellent performance. It is capable of producing various styles of color boxes at speeds up to 450 meters per minute and guarantees excellent product quality. The all-in-one glue detection machine demonstrated this time is equipped with the VIEWCHECK visual inspection system, which can conduct comprehensive inspections on products to ensure that they meet the high standards of the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. This advanced visual inspection technology not only improves production efficiency, but also provides reliable guarantee for product quality. Attendees were also impressed by the high intelligence and production efficiency of this BOBST post-press technology, and all believed that it would greatly improve their production efficiency.
Highlight 3: Ling Yunguang
Ling Yunguang elaborated on the conceptual architecture and implementation plan of Yiyao Printing Smart Factory. Here, AGVs and robots shuttle between them, accurately performing various tasks. The entire workshop only needs a dozen employees to maintain efficient and intelligent operation. The huge potential of technology is demonstrated here. In addition, except for the necessary visual inspection light sources, all other lights can be turned off, enabling true "black light production".
The large visual screen customized by Ling Yunguang for Yiyao Printing helps managers and operators fully understand the production status, optimize the production process, and improve production efficiency and quality by displaying various data during the production process on the large screen in real time. .
The entire large screen consists of two parts: 1. Real-time display of the operating status of the equipment and the storage location of the cargo space through digital twin technology, restoring and presenting the 1:1 on-site equipment. 2. Integrate data from different systems and sensors, including ERP, MES, WMS, AGVS, PLC, SCADA, etc., to achieve centralized management and comprehensive analysis of data. The collected data is composed of 8 major modules, namely "production control, quality control, equipment status monitoring, intelligent warehousing, AGV logistics, on-site monitoring, air conditioning, and energy consumption management."
Lingyunguang's automatic box-gluing back-end production line is equipped with full process automation from carton unpacking, automatic labeling, automatic sealing, and robot palletizing. The palletized finished products can be transported through RGV, conveyor lines and other logistics The equipment is connected to the smart warehouse to realize the entire process from finished product off-line to warehousing, and ultimately achieve efficient, labor-saving and continuous production in the post-gluing stage.
In addition, in conjunction with the different packing methods of the pill box line 2/4, Lingyun Optical Glue Box Packaging Automation Production Line has a compatible mode, which can adjust the packing procedures according to different linear packing methods to meet the user's production and packing needs, fully Make use of venue space.
Lingyunguang's customized three-dimensional warehouse adopts a four-way shuttle and elevator solution to ensure the efficiency of the entry and exit of raw materials and finished products on each floor and meet the scheduling of full production. The warehouse area is increased by 4 times compared to the single-layer capacity, the number of logistics personnel is reduced by more than 10, and the warehousing efficiency is increased by 3 times compared with the traditional method.
Through on-site information exchange, not only did the on-site guests understand the charm of smart factories, but it also provided reference suggestions for other companies' future development plans.
Indeed, as the wave of digitalization sweeps the world, concepts such as "digital factory", "intelligent factory", "smart factory" and "lights-out factory" are emerging one after another. Behind these concepts, companies attach great importance to automation and intelligent transformation. As mentioned above, building a successful smart factory is not just about introducing advanced equipment, but also requires comprehensive planning and layout.
Yiyao Printing's smart factory is a vivid case, which shows us the huge potential of smart manufacturing in the field of pharmaceutical packaging. We expect that in the future, more companies, like Yiyao Printing, will actively embrace digital transformation and improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, and improve product quality through intelligent manufacturing. It is believed that in the near future, smart factories will become the mainstream of the printing and packaging industry, injecting new vitality into the high-quality development of China's printing and packaging industry.
