Automated Motion Control for Corrugated Board Converting Systems

EDF Europe and Bosch Rexroth are collaborating to integrate advanced motion control systems into corrugated board converting machines. This technical partnership targets the packaging industry by deploying modular drive architectures to manage high-speed printing, die-cutting, and material handling operations.

Operational Challenges in Packaging Production
The packaging sector requires manufacturing systems capable of accommodating decreasing batch sizes while maintaining high throughput. To address this, EDF Europe, a manufacturer of complete corrugated board converting lines, partnered with Bosch Rexroth, a specialist in industrial automation and drive technology. The cooperation was required to overcome the mechanical and computational complexity of synchronizing multiple high-speed converting modules. Bosch Rexroth provides the control architectures, drives, and servo motors, while EDF Europe designs the mechanical equipment and integrates the peripheral and end-of-line systems into customized production lines.

Motion Control Architecture and Synchronization
The core of the joint development is the implementation of the ctrlX AUTOMATION platform within the HGL 1628 converting line. Bosch Rexroth supplies the entire motion control ecosystem, handling the electronic cams of the feeder, color registration across printing units, and die-cutting actuation. Dedicated software libraries for corrugated board applications govern the synchronization and complex motion functions. By processing sensor data and adjusting drive speeds in real time, the system maintains consistent print alignment and structural accuracy on coated boards at maximum operating speeds.

"The challenge was maintaining perfect synchronization between the feeder's electronic cams, color registration across printing units, and die-cutting operations," said Alessandro Rocchi, CEO of EDF Europe. "Thanks to Bosch Rexroth's hardware and software platform, we achieved extremely precise control of the entire production line, significantly reducing changeover times while improving print quality, even on coated board."




Implementation and Digital Infrastructure
Bosch Rexroth engineers support the machine design phase, sizing the drive components and commissioning the automation software directly into EDF Europe’s manufacturing hardware. The deployment utilizes an open platform architecture, enabling future integration of edge computing and advanced diagnostics. This digital infrastructure allows operators to collect production data to calculate Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and establish secure connections between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments without requiring total system redesigns.

Standardized Components and Energy Recovery
The converting systems are deployed in high-volume packaging facilities where continuous operation and rapid changeovers are required. To improve maintainability, the design standardizes motors and drives across the entire line, simplifying spare-parts inventory and reducing overall maintenance overhead.

Additionally, the production modules address energy efficiency through integrated hardware mechanisms.

"Each machine section has its own regenerative power supply and MS2N asynchronous servo motors, which provide high dynamic precision while recovering energy during the production cycle," said Gianluigi Guidolin, Electrical and Automation Software Engineering at EDF Europe. "This approach allows us to reduce energy consumption by 10 to 15 percent while simultaneously improving overall line performance."

Edited by Aishwarya Mambet, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.

www.boschrexroth.com