How Food Manufacturers Modernize Legacy Wrappers Without Replacing the Machine
Inside the Guide
- The Base Problem: Where Risk Creeps In
- The 5 Warning Signs
- Why Controls Fail Before Mechanics
- Modern Upgrade Architecture
- Upgrade vs. Replacement Cost Comparison
- The Doboy Case Study
The Base Problem: Where Risk Creeps In
Many food manufacturers continue running Doboy flow wrappers that were built decades ago. The mechanical design of these machines is extremely durable, which is why they remain in production today.
The challenge is not the mechanics — it is the control system architecture.
Many legacy wrappers still operate with:
- discontinued PLC platforms
- aging servo drives and motors
- unsupported HMIs
- outdated motion control technology
As control hardware becomes obsolete, maintenance teams face increasing difficulty sourcing replacement parts, troubleshooting faults, and keeping machines running reliably.
This creates a growing operational risk: mechanically reliable machines being limited by outdated controls technology. Modernizing the control system allows manufacturers to preserve proven equipment while restoring reliability, diagnostics, and long-term supportability.
5 Signs Your Wrapper Needs a Controls Upgrade
Many control systems fail gradually rather than suddenly. Maintenance teams often notice warning signs months or years before a major failure occurs. Common indicators that a flow wrapper control system may need modernization include:
- Spare parts are becoming difficult to source. Many older PLC platforms, servo drives, and HMIs are no longer supported by manufacturers.
- Servo drives fault randomly. Aging motion hardware often begins generating unexplained faults that are difficult to diagnose.
- Operators struggle to diagnose issues. Older HMIs provide limited troubleshooting information, increasing downtime during machine faults.
- Machine speed has been capped for years. Legacy control systems often limit the performance potential of mechanically capable machines.
- Integration with newer equipment is difficult. Older communication protocols can make integration with modern production lines challenging.
Recognizing these warning signs early allows manufacturers to plan modernization projects before downtime becomes critical.
Why Controls Fail Before Mechanics
In many packaging machines, mechanical components such as frames, conveyors, and sealing assemblies can operate reliably for decades with proper maintenance. Control systems, however, have a much shorter lifecycle.
Typical control system components have expected lifespans of:
- PLC platforms: 10–20 years
- Servo drives and motors: 10–15 years
- HMIs: 8–12 years
Electronic components eventually become obsolete, unsupported, or incompatible with modern systems. As a result, many flow wrappers reach a point where the mechanics remain reliable, but the controls become the limiting factor.
Upgrading the control architecture allows manufacturers to extend the useful life of mechanically sound equipment while improving performance and maintainability.
Modern Upgrade Architecture
Modern flow wrapper upgrades typically replace legacy control systems with an integrated automation platform built around current industrial standards. A typical modernization architecture includes:
- CompactLogix PLC — provides centralized machine control, improved processing capability, and modern communication protocols.
- Kinetix Servo Drives and Motors — deliver precise motion control and synchronization across product handling, film movement, sealing, and cutting operations.
- PanelView HMI — provides operators and maintenance teams with modern diagnostics, alarms, and machine visibility.
- Integrated Motion Control — allows coordinated control of machine axes for smoother operation and improved performance.
This modern architecture restores long-term supportability while improving diagnostics, reliability, and production performance.
Upgrade vs. Replacement Cost Comparison
Replacing a packaging machine is often considered when control systems become obsolete. However, replacement is not always necessary when the mechanical system remains reliable.
A controls modernization project can often provide:
- improved performance
- modern automation architecture
- better diagnostics
- long-term supportability
… while preserving existing mechanical equipment.
In many cases, upgrading the controls can provide significant operational improvements while avoiding the cost, installation disruption, and production downtime associated with replacing an entire machine.
The Doboy Case Study: 20% Speed Increase
Turnkey Controls Modernization That Improves Speed, Uptime, and Supportability
At Axis Engineering Group LLC, upgrading legacy flow wrappers is not a one-off project for us. It is part of the modernization work we have been doing since 1998 as a systems integrator focused on improving control, reliability, and performance for manufacturers. That is the promise behind our tagline: Manufacturing Peace of Mind™.
We have completed multiple upgrades on legacy Doboy machines, helping food and packaged-goods manufacturers keep mechanically proven equipment in production while replacing obsolete controls with current, supportable technology. Our upgrade path is built around modern Allen-Bradley architecture, including CompactLogix PLCs, Kinetix servo drives and motors, and PanelView HMIs, delivered as a turnkey controls modernization from engineering through commissioning.
The Challenge: Proven Machines, Obsolete Controls
Many older flow wrappers are still mechanically sound, but their original controls have become the weak link. Unsupported PLC platforms, aging servo hardware, limited diagnostics, and shrinking replacement-parts availability create downtime risk and make maintenance harder every year.
That challenge is especially relevant in food packaging, where a wrapper is a critical production asset. Syntegon says Doboy has been producing horizontal flow wrappers since 1964, and many discontinued models remain in use today. There are now more than 4,000 Syntegon horizontal flow wrappers installed worldwide, which speaks to the size of the installed base still in service.
Our Turnkey Upgrade Approach
When we upgrade a machine, we do not treat it like a simple parts swap. We approach it as a full system modernization. Our typical scope includes:
- replacement of obsolete controls
- Allen-Bradley CompactLogix PLC integration
- Kinetix servo drives and servo motors
- PanelView HMI modernization
- machine logic redevelopment
- motion synchronization and servo tuning
- startup, commissioning, and production support
This fits directly with how we describe Axis Engineering: a partner that combines hardware, software, and engineering expertise to create seamless solutions for each plant’s unique needs. We deliver turnkey systems that help manufacturers work smarter, safer, and more efficiently.
Real Results on the Plant Floor
In one recent project for a food packaged-goods manufacturer, we completed a turnkey upgrade on a Doboy Stratus machine. We replaced the obsolete control system with a modern Allen-Bradley platform featuring a CompactLogix PLC, Kinetix servo drives and motors, and a PanelView HMI.
The result was a 20% increase in machine speed and substantially improved uptime because the machine now runs on current, supportable controls components instead of outdated electronics.
That project is one example of a broader capability. We have performed this kind of upgrade more than once and developed a repeatable modernization path for older wrappers that lets customers keep equipment they trust mechanically while bringing the controls up to current standards.
Why Manufacturers Choose Axis Engineering
Manufacturers choose us because they do not just need a programmer. They need a partner who understands machine controls, motion, integration, commissioning, and the realities of production.
We have been delivering automation and controls solutions since 1998 and bring more than 25 years of experience to complex manufacturing challenges. We position our work around helping customers improve uptime, productivity, reliability, and long-term supportability.
Our upgrades help deliver:
- higher machine speed
- improved uptime
- easier maintenance
- better diagnostics and operator visibility
- current, supportable controls hardware
- a stronger foundation for future support and expansion
Manufacturing Peace of Mind™
For us, Manufacturing Peace of Mind™ means giving our customers confidence that their equipment will run reliably, meet production goals, and remain maintainable well into the future.
That is exactly what our flow wrapper upgrades are built to do. When a proven machine is being held back by obsolete controls, we provide a turnkey path to modernize it with current Allen-Bradley technology, improve output, reduce downtime risk, and extend the life of a valuable packaging asset.
Looking to Upgrade a Doboy Flow Wrapper?
If your machine is being limited by obsolete controls, Axis Engineering can help you modernize it with a turnkey controls upgrade designed to improve speed, uptime, diagnostics, and long-term supportability.
Learn more about our work with food and beverage manufacturers on our Food & Beverage Controls page — including a free risk assessment to see where your operation stands.
Contact Axis Engineering Group LLC to discuss your flow wrapper upgrade and see how we deliver Manufacturing Peace of Mind℠.