Manufacturers must handle more product variants, tighter delivery schedules and shorter product lifecycles. For this reason, packaging operations need systems capable of reacting quickly, reducing manual adjustments and maintaining stable performance over time.
At Interpack 2026, ABB’s Machine Automation division showcased a new generation of automation solutions built on B&R technology. Designed to help manufacturers modernize existing packaging lines, these solutions enable faster adaptation to changing production requirements while improving efficiency and sustainability.
The technologies support greater flexibility, faster changeovers and more efficient use of resources, allowing packaging operations to manage increasing product variety and shorter product lifecycles with confidence. By enhancing the performance of installed equipment, ABB helps manufacturers reduce upgrade costs, accelerate implementation and improve long-term operational sustainability.
Transport systems beyond mechanics
With ACOPOS 6D Hybrid, B&R further expands the flexibility of its planar transport system and complements it with ACOPOS 6D LaunchPad, a software tool for simulation-based engineering and configuration. The hybrid concept combines magnetically levitated ACOPOS 6D shuttles for high-value process steps with conventional transport systems such as conveyors, robots or other manipulators for less critical tasks, all coordinated within a single control architecture.
Using ACOPOS 6D LaunchPad, machine layouts, shuttle flows and process sequences can be designed, simulated and optimized virtually before hardware is installed, allowing manufacturers to validate performance, reduce commissioning time and scale systems step by step as requirements evolve. Once the hardware becomes available, the transition from simulation to reality is seamless: thanks to the “Configure and Run” approach, the virtual setup can simply be transferred to real hardware. The result is a reduction in engineering effort, fewer late-stage changes, and a faster time-to-market, turning virtual engineering into a decisive competitive advantage.
Integrated Color Vision ready-to-use for packaging
The new B&R Color Camera improves key printing performance indicators by enabling vision‑based process corrections at production speeds of up to 500 m/min. Integrated directly into the machine control loop, the solution supports first‑time‑right printing, reduces material waste at the source and increases overall equipment effectiveness, contributing to more sustainable and cost‑efficient printing processes. Designed for modern packaging and printing applications, such as labeling, with frequent design changes and challenging materials, e.g., glossy, transparent and multi-colored substrates, the Color Camera enables autonomous process optimization. Intelligent adaptive algorithms, including autoexposure, continuously adjust to changing conditions without manual intervention, helping to prevent scrap. Unlike standalone vision systems, the B&R Color Camera integrates vision, motion and control on single deterministic platform, enabling real-time, in-cycle corrections with microsecond-level synchronization. A unified hardware and software platform supports both monochrome and color applications, simplifying machine design, accelerating commissioning and allowing scalable vision functionality within a single engineering environment.
“Our innovations here at Interpack highlight that we aim to enable the packaging industry to respond to the most pressing challenges: fast turnovers, constantly new variants, and an overall maximized productivity, so packaging can get personal,” said Lazaros Patsakas, Global Industry Segment Manager CPG at B&R. “These challenges can only be solved with intelligent, future‑ready automation.”
