Cartoner Offers Advanced Technology & Simplicity

CRG Automation's packaging customers faced compounding operational pressures: chronic labor shortages made it difficult to retain experienced machine operators, while an increasingly inexperienced workforce raised safety concerns on the factory floor. Traditional cartoners required lengthy manual changeovers — operators had to shut down equipment and physically adjust mechanical components to switch between product sizes, from trial-size to family-size cartons. This rigidity translated directly into downtime, lost throughput, and constrained output. For manufacturers packaging household and personal care products, the inability to respond quickly to shifting consumer demand for different SKU sizes represented a significant competitive liability.

CRG Automation, a Kentucky-based OEM with over two decades of custom packaging experience, developed the C-IMC Cartoner — a mid-range machine capable of processing approximately 60 cartons per minute — embedding a suite of Rockwell Automation technologies. The platform centers on FactoryTalk® Optix™, a PC-based visualization system that contextualizes real-time machine data for on-machine analytics and optional cloud connectivity. ArmorKinetix® Distributed Servo Drives enable single-button automated changeovers using preloaded recipes, eliminating manual mechanical adjustments. CompactLogix™ integrated safety control provides inherent machine safety for less-experienced operators, while FactoryTalk® Remote Access™ enables CRG to remotely monitor, support, and proactively alert customers to potential issues before they cause unplanned stoppages.

The C-IMC Cartoner delivered measurable improvements across the operational challenges that motivated its design:

• Faster changeovers: Automated, recipe-driven servo changeovers replaced time-consuming manual mechanical adjustments, reducing setup time and associated downtime
• Reduced operator training burden: Onboard guidance and an intuitive HMI allow less-experienced technicians to self-diagnose and self-adjust without specialist intervention
• Less unplanned downtime: Remote monitoring via FactoryTalk Remote Access enables proactive issue detection, allowing CRG to alert customers before failures occur

The platform also positions customers for broader digital transformation — data generated on-machine can be ported to the cloud, connected across facilities, or integrated with manufacturing execution systems as readiness grows.

• Simplicity is a feature: Designing for an inexperienced workforce — intuitive HMI, onboard troubleshooting, integrated safety — reduces training time and lowers the risk of operator error
• Automated changeovers require upfront recipe investment: Single-button flexibility depends on preloaded product configurations; that library must be built and maintained
• Remote access shifts maintenance from reactive to proactive: Vendors with remote monitoring capability can alert customers to issues before failures occur, fundamentally changing the support model
• Modular data architecture enables gradual IIoT adoption: Starting with on-machine analytics and optionally expanding to cloud or MES integration lets manufacturers grow digital capabilities at their own pace