Dear Reader,

are we currently experiencing “electro-euphoria”? I ask myself this question quite often, as selfcriticism is always appropriate when you hold a position of responsibility in an industrial company in the mechanical engineering sector. I watch the market very closely and - regardless of whether it’s cars, machine tools or packaging machines – electrification is progressing at a mighty pace and there’s no stopping it anymore. I can assure you, it has nothing to do with euphoria.Packing machines must become increasingly flexible, increasingly safe to operate and increasingly reliable, and that’s where electrical systems, electronics and software come into the picture.We want to adjust ever faster to the demands of the market. The machines are to be clearly laid out, offer good accessibility to their functions, be easy to clean and simple to operate. The time is right for the automatic size change. I’m certain it will come. It’s just a matter of time now.We had intended to introduce this feature to the market at interpack 2008, but unfortunately we ran out of time. The development effort for the necessary software alone requires approximately five man-years. 

And while we’re on the subject of development – today we spend approximately 6 % of our turnover on development and 5 % of it goes into the software (see Page 30 “A Good Value”). Good software is growing increasingly important, as with good software it’s possible to cut costs to a degree never previously thought possible. When the software costs for a machine are shifted to its assembly, which is usually the case, this results in high assembly costs, and ultimately in expensive machines. At Schubert we pay strict attention to the fact that packaging machines are a synthesis of mechanical systems, a control system and software, and that the programming work during assembly now only consists of entering product or customer-specific parameters. 

This Sequence No. 4 contains case studies from a wide variety of areas that are just waiting for you to study them. If you require detailed information on a case study, you’re welcome to ask us.We’ll be happy to answer questions, provided we have the customer’s consent.The case studies are proof of the flexibility of the TLM packaging machine systems. Simple mechanical systems, intelligent control and interchangeable tools make it possible. It’s really true that the flexibility of a packaging machine increases as soon as the focus on the mechanical aspects is reduced and the functions are shifted into the software. 

I wish you an enjoyable read with our Sequence No. 4 and I look forward to greeting you at the end of April in Düsseldorf at interpack 2008.

Gerhard Schubert