In episode 40 of The Downtime, a weekly manufacturing podcast from WTWH Media, co-host Sarah Wynn chats with Dante Vaccaro, digital transformation consultant at Schneider Electric.
Recorded in Las Vegas at Schneider Electric’s 2025 Innovation Summit, the conversation explores artificial intelligence (AI) use cases in packaging, including vision for quality inspection, what OEMs need to know to be “AI-ready,” and motion control technology.
This episode is part two of our Innovation Summit coverage. In part one, Christine Bush breaks down Schneider Electric’s approach to AI, robotics, and digital twins in packaging. Click here to listen.
Eyes on quality: AI vision for inspection
Vaccaro discussed how AI is currently being applied to quality inspection on packaging lines.
“The most tried, tested, and proven avenues is really combining vision systems with downstream robotics,” he said. “Pick and placing, high-fidelity vision models to take the poor quality out of the line.”
These applications are often applied at the end of the line, he said, and depend on product requirements and inspection needs.
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As one example, Vaccaro pointed to premium beauty care products. “I have to be able to detect what’s good or bad and pull it out of the system so I don’t send that back to customers,” he said.
Because packaging lines operate at high speeds, AI computing decisions must happen close to the process.
“In packaging, everything’s super quick,” Vaccaro said. “Edge computing, locally hosted, in combination with control systems, allows you to collect, detect, and trigger a response in a very short period of time.”
The discussion also touched on open, software-defined automation. Vaccaro described a deployment where Schneider Electric trained an AI model in the cloud and deployed it locally using EcoStruxure Automation Expert on an industrial PC.
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“We trained the model in the cloud, deployed it at the edge, and because it’s co-located, we’re able to detect the issue and deploy a PLC (programmable logic controller) output within like 10 milliseconds,” he explained.
All about the data: AI readiness
AI readiness for OEMs starts with having a clear plan for how machine data is organized and used.
“I would say AI-ready is that I have organizational contextualization of data,” said Vaccaro. “At the minimum, I want to start to drive predictive analytics on top of that.”
Relevant data may include torque, energy consumption, and performance across subcomponents of a packaging line.
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“End users are pushing for performance guarantees on the equipment,” Vaccaro explained. “I need to know what data is relevant to driving analytics and what data is relevant to determining if I’m guaranteeing that throughput.”
Built for speed: motion control performance
During the discussion, Vaccaro pointed to Schneider Electric’s M660 motion controller as an example of the performance required to support AI-enabled packaging systems.
“It can do 300 coordinated axes on one drive,” he said. “That’s like the Ferrari of motion-centric and servo control.”
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He contrasted the M660 with the company’s previous generation of motion controllers, which supported 120 axes of coordinated motion.
“It’s almost two and a half times the performance of the previous generation,” Vaccaro said.
He also discussed how the controller is used in larger, distributed packaging lines.
“Think about large, distributed lines and having multiple controllers that are laid out,” he said. “It does everything in a simple package, with millisecond scan times.”
Episode 40 | Show notes & time stamps
00:17 – The co-hosts open the show
01:11 – Wynn and Kasprzak preview this week’s episode
02:17 – Kasprzak shares Plant Engineering’s story from Herbert Post on PPE and why workers resist safety gear, including tips for improving PPE compliance
03:33 – Wynn highlights Packaging OEM’s coverage of Coesia’s recent acquisition of selected assets from the Rotzinger Group
04:18 – Wynn introduces this week’s interview segment, featuring Dante Vaccaro, digital transformation consultant at Schneider Electric. The segment was filmed at the 2025 Schneider Electric Innovation Summit in Las Vegas and dives into artificial intelligence (AI) on packaging lines, edge computing, open, software-defined automation, and motion control technology
05:01 – Interview with Vaccaro begins
05:41 – Vaccaro explains where AI is making the biggest impact on packaging lines
06:44 – Vaccaro provides end-of-line use cases for AI vision
07:49 – Vaccaro and Wynn discuss how OEMs and end users are using edge computing for real-time decisions in packaging environments
11:22 – Vaccaro shares a recent edge-and AI example involving a PLC
12:05 – Vaccaro introduces the M660 motion controller, calling it the “Ferrari” of motion-centric and servo control
12:55 – Wynn asks what “AI-ready” looks like for OEM equipment
17:54 – Interview with Vaccro ends
18:32 – The co-hosts play “Swipe Right” Valentine’s Day game
24:30 – The dynamic duo reflects on publishing 40 episodes of The Downtime podcast
25:47 – Wynn and Kasprazk wrap up the episode.
About The Downtime podcast and co-hosts
The Downtime is a weekly manufacturing podcast from WTWH Media that features insights from its automation and controls publications. It’s co-hosted by Wynn, who serves as the senior editor (digital) for Packaging OEM, and Kasprzak, who is the executive editor for Plant Engineering, Control Engineering, and Consulting-Specifying Engineer.
The podcast is available weekly on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Spotify.
Check out The Downtime’s recent episodes
Episode 35: Schneider Electric on AI, robotics, and digital twins in packaging
Episode 36: How Weintek’s HMIs act as a “universal remote” for packaging OEMs
Episode 37: CAPTRON on sensing technology for washdown environments
Episode 38: Festo on safety-integrated servo drives for packaging
Episode 39: Bosch Rexroth on modular conveyor design for CPG packaging lines
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