Packaging line flexibility: AI, changeovers and robotics

Packaging equipment is being asked to respond to changing products, formats, and operating conditions while also becoming easier to set up and integrate. 

That flexibility is taking different forms across the line. Artificial intelligence is helping machines respond to conditions that cannot always be controlled in advance. Guided changeovers are reducing dependence on operator knowledge, while pre-engineered robotics are giving OEMs another way to simplify deployment. 

In this edition of On the Line, we look at how those technologies are changing what OEMs can build, deploy, and support. 

Built for the unexpected: AI expands what packaging machines can handle 

Packaging machinery is designed around repeatable motion, but what moves through production is not always predictable. Products can shift, cases can arrive in different sequences, and conditions can change while the line keeps running. 

At Automate 2026 in Chicago, FANUC, ABB, Bosch Rexroth, and Schneider Electric shared how they are applying AI across robotic handling, palletizing, machine data, edge computing, and engineering to help equipment handle more of that variability. 

At the end of the line, ABB is using physical AI in mixed-case palletizing applications where packages may arrive randomly and existing facilities do not have room for large reorientation systems. 

“By introducing artificial intelligence into these applications, we are now able to allow our customers to operate in much more dynamic spaces where we don’t necessarily have as perfect a sequencing as we may have required in previous environments,” said Ben Perlson, segment manager for consumer industries at ABB. 

→ Read the feature story 

Triangle guides operators through VFFS changeovers 

Changeovers are another place where flexibility can depend heavily on the people running the equipment. 

Triangle Package Machinery’s SmartChange combines automated positioning, laser verification, digital feedback, and visual prompts to guide operators through setup on its X-Series vertical form-fill-seal systems. The technology is designed to make changeovers more repeatable across operators, shifts, and facilities. 

“We developed SmartChange to make changeovers more repeatable, verifiable, and consistent, helping operators achieve the same result every time during every shift,” said Kyle Wilson, director of engineering at Triangle, in a statement. 

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Pre-engineered palletizing reduces the burden on OEMs 

In Packaging OEM’s Robotics on the Packaging Line report, Festo shares how its FPaKit uses a pre-engineered gantry system to simplify palletizing integration and reduce commissioning work for OEMs. 

“The main goal was to create a smooth and quick path to compact, high-performance palletizing solutions and come up with a way to have really short commissioning times,” said John Vosper, applications engineer at Festo. 

→ Download the report 

Final takeaway 

Flexibility on the packaging line is not coming from one technology. It can mean equipment handling variability in real time, giving operators more guidance during changeovers, or reducing the engineering required to put robotics into production. 

For OEMs, the common thread is making equipment easier to adapt without adding more complexity.