When integrating assembly lines with packaging lines, manufacturing engineers face some critical strategic and operational challenges.

"Strategically, competitive pressures and consumer preferences drive ever-increasing packaging variations, with shorter runs and more frequent changeovers," says Tony Barr, product marketing manager for modular conveyor systems at Bosch Rexroth Corp. (Buchanan, MI). "This, in turn, requires that process design [and] machine selection be aligned with strategic imperatives and market objectives.