Research on the Application of Mechanical Automation in the Field of Food Packaging

China's food packaging industry has made significant progress in recent years, becoming a vibrant sector with promising prospects recognized by the industry. However, we must clearly understand that due to the late start in domestic food packaging technology research and development, the lack of core technologies to compete with Western counterparts, and the insufficient scientific integration and optimization of existing resources, the application scope of mechanical automation in China's food processing industry is very limited, and the foundation for independent innovation technology is relatively weak. Especially in recent years, there have been frequent news reports about food packaging safety issues, such as the use of recycled waste paper for food packaging paper; food poisoning caused by the packaging of a certain international top brand beverage; and a series of incidents like a Pepsi bottle exploding instantly after freezing, causing disfigurement to a child, all pointing to food packaging safety concerns. Many domestic companies have suffered significant declines in export volume due to the impact of this small packaging paper, causing considerable international repercussions. At the same time, food packaging safety and hygiene issues have always been highly concerned by regions such as the European Union, the United States, and Japan. Some developed countries have established strict regulations on the quality of China's food packaging, making food packaging a new tool for some developed countries to set trade barriers against China.

1. The Current Situation of Mechanical Automation in China's Food Packaging Industry

Looking at China's current food industry, its market structure is in a "distorted" development state, and the "one strong, multiple poles" market pattern is difficult to change in the short term. Part of it consists of

large state-owned food production enterprises, which have monopolistic advantages in both R&D technology and market share. These enterprises have relatively abundant funds and the capability to promote

the smooth development of advanced mechanical automation equipment, which means that many small enterprises in the "multi-level" position can only survive on their own. Surviving in fierce market competition is already

not easy, let alone investing more effort in innovation and improvement related to packaging quality that concerns food safety.

In recent years, the country has also recognized that this development trend is a great obstacle to the application of mechanical automation in the food packaging field in China. Therefore, the country has gradually begun to strategically

reform this situation at a high level. Some new technologies and new equipment have been successively adopted by many small and medium-sized enterprises. With the help of mechanical automation, these enterprises have made significant progress in production processes and efficiency.

However, compared with developed countries, there is still a large gap in the quality and technology of China's current mechanical automation equipment. The packaging segment of China's food industry still mainly relies on single-machine operation of mechanical equipment, and its technological content and intelligence level are far below the average level of similar industries in developed countries.

On the one hand, mechanical automation equipment from developed countries in Europe and America, with more advanced technology and relatively attractive prices, has formed a significant market impact on China's mechanical processing equipment with independent intellectual property rights. Some food production enterprises that value technology and have strong purchasing power are naturally attracted to mechanical equipment produced by countries such as Europe and America. This has caused a great negative impact on the design, R&D, production, and sales of related domestic mechanical automation, and in the long run, it may lead to the complete loss of domestic mechanical automation's share in the food packaging field. On the other hand, China's innovation capability in mechanical automation related to food packaging is insufficient. The R&D of related equipment started late, and the operating funds of R&D and production enterprises themselves are limited. In today's fiercely competitive market environment, the ability to withstand the impact of foreign technology is weak.

2. Innovation in China's Mechanical Automation

(1) Practical Application of High-Tech

China's mechanical automation equipment has made significant progress in the development of high technology, mainly reflected in aseptic cold filling packaging, ultra-high temperature sterilization, vacuum packaging and microcomputer technology. The mature application of these technologies provides reliable guarantees for the storage time and quality after food packaging. At the same time, we are pleased to see that domestic state-owned equipment manufacturers such as Xinmeixing, Dayilong, and Huayan

have also reached a domestic first-class level in high-end beverage equipment such as blowing and filling integrated machines and injection molding machines. Many mechanical automation equipment such as palletizers, case packers, labeling machines, and weighing instruments

have already reached a mature application stage in the food packaging process. Of course, to achieve comprehensive technological innovation of mechanical automation in the food packaging field, relevant domestic enterprises need to continuously increase their R&D investment.

(2) Efficient Use of Resources

In terms of resource utilization, the focus is mainly on improving the mechanical equipment's ability to repeatedly and renewably recycle limited resources, fully realizing the principle of making the best use of everything, strengthening the extraction of components from processing materials, and reducing nutritional loss caused by packaging quality issues.

(3) Development of Energy-Saving Equipment

Industry insiders predict that the future trend of food packaging machinery application in China should move towards energy-saving, recyclable, and intelligent directions. For example, with the maturity of servo technology, advanced foreign equipment gradually replaces ordinary mechanical transmissions such as gears and belts with servo drives, which can save energy to a large extent on the basis of intelligent and precise control.

At the same time, on the road of mechanical automation R&D, we also need to move towards environmental protection. This development policy is a rare opportunity for the development of China's packaging industry. Relevant enterprises in China should recognize early the social and corporate benefits created by making mechanical equipment environmentally friendly. This technological innovation not only aligns with the country's sustainable development strategy but also reduces production costs for enterprises themselves. Therefore, developing energy-saving equipment will create greater economic and ecological win-win benefits for enterprises.

3. Application of Mechanical Automation in the Packaging Field

Currently, many advanced food machinery devices in the food packaging field contain powerful automation processing and operation capabilities. For example, through the interaction between programmable language groups and equipment,

many mechanical devices can be freely controlled by operators, better adapting to various adjustments in the production process. For instance, the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) can connect workshop operations through PLC controllers, data collectors, barcodes, various measuring and testing instruments, manipulators, and other field control systems to achieve central control, and can also transmit information from order placement

发之路上，我们还需要面向环保方向进发，这一发展方针是对我国的包装业的一次难得的发展机遇，我国相关企业要提早认识到让机械设备

走环保之路所创造出的社会效益与企业效益。这一技术的革新不仅符合国家的可持续发展战略，更可以为企业自身降低生产成本，所以，研

发节能设备会为企业创造更大的经济与生态的双赢效益。

三、机械自动化在包装领域的应用

    目前，在食品包装领域中很多先进的食品机械设备都蕴含了强大的自动化处理与操作的能力，例如借助可编程语言组与设备之间的互动

应用，使得许多机械设备都能被操作人员自如控制，可以更好地适应于生产环节的各种调整；如生产制造执行系统（MES）可以通过PLC程控

器、数据采集器、条形码、各种计量及检测仪器、机械手等现场控制系统将车间作业联系起来实现中央控制，又能通过信息传递对从订单下达

Optimize and manage the entire production process until the product is completed. In the future food packaging industry, mechanical automation will develop towards the aforementioned intelligent, visual, and intuitive directions. It can be said that to ensure high production efficiency, intelligent detection systems and automated mechanical equipment will be indispensable in future applications.

(1) Application of Safety Monitoring in Food Packaging

In the field of food packaging, ensuring the safety of food packaging is the foundation of all enterprise operations and the guiding principle for all actions within the industry. Its important status is self-evident. According to

traditional food safety detection methods, judgments are mostly made by referring to the specified parameters of processing machinery, but specific issues such as raw material quality, packaging process, and the characteristics of the food itself cannot be judged by simple

parameters. With the advancement of mechanical automation technology, precise monitoring methods are available for various safety issues involved in the food packaging process. For example, during the entire processing and packaging of some foods,

factories must conduct real-time bacterial content detection for all process steps involved in the product; a high external cover liquid level detector was developed to prevent product leakage or mold caused by residuals on bottle mouths. Additionally, some food packaging involves printing processes during production, where large amounts of organic solvents are used, including xylene, isopropanol, and butanone. These harmful solvents