An Intelligent Packaging Materials Management and Optimisation for the Production Process

Abstract

An intelligent model was formulated to aid in the packaging materials management and optimisation for the production process. This was done after generating a 2D drawing using AutoCAD software for each of the popular packaging material shapes utilised in the production system. In modelling, uniform (regular) and non-uniform (irregular) packaging containers were considered in the determination of forces, areas, volumes, weights, densities, among other relevant parameters. Three packaging materials: ceramic glass, plastic and laminated cardboard containing processed water and other beverages in 75 cl, 50 cl, 33 cl and 1 litre respectively were considered during model testing. Results showed that the production systems applied different forms of irregular packaging shapes consisting of a combination of cuboids, cylindrical, conical and trapezoidal shapes with varying dimensional configurations. Experimental results revealed that the processed packaging materials agreed with the density standards, but they were in disagreement in terms of capacity, except for the laminated cardboard version (1.015 litres as against 1 litre). Stability results indicated that both regular and irregular packaging shapes were stable. The outcomes showed that the regular-shaped packaging material was optimum in terms of fitness, suitability, and cost effectiveness compared to the irregular version.

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