OMAC Approves PackAL Guidelines

Library increases software programming efficiencies and improves machine-to-machine communication
Research Triangle Park, NC (10 March 2006) - The OMAC Packaging Workgroup (OPW) approved the PackAL guidelines at their meeting in Orlando, Florida. PackAL will be added to the OPW Guidelines for Packaging Machinery Automation. An updated version of these guidelines is scheduled to be released in April.
PackAL is an application library of common software elements used in packaging applications that was developed by the PackSoft subgroup of the OPW.  The application library is made up of twenty-three functions.
Thirteen functions are machine functions, such as wind/unwind, dancer control, registration, and indexing.  Nine functions are communication functions for horizontal line communications, and one function is for the PackML machine state model.
The PackAL application library creates a common look and feel in software elements for functionality, communication and machine organization in packaging machinery.  There are many benefits to machine builders and end users.
Gerd Hoppe, CTO, Beckoff Automation N.A., leads the technical subcommittee for PackSoft.
"The benefits are considerable for both machine builders and end-users:
the organization of machine communication and commonly used functions facilitates seamless machine programming across control platforms and between machines from different vendors," said Hoppe.
Flexibility for PackAL users is guaranteed with the ability to scale between basic and enhanced functions. Also, a compliance statement describes which parts of the PackAL Library are supported by each vendor's product.
"Horizontal machine integration becomes easier and a common coding platform is maintained for machine builders," Hoppe said. "End users are freed from unnecessary programming efforts, gain the ability to quickly understand and maintain machine code and, as a result, can spend more of their valuable time working on process-specific solutions."
At the Orlando meeting, three vendors (Bosch Rexroth, Siemens, and
Beckhoff) announced PackAL libraries as an add-on to their respective control platforms.
Additional information on PackAL is available on the PackSoft portion of the OMAC website (www.omac.org/packsoft).