Back in early 2021, we at ADOX needed a way to produce cardboard packaging for CineStill film products. The solution wasn’t buying a brand-new machine, it was reviving a historic cardboard packaging machine that had been rescued from Forte in the early 2000s.
Read MoreYears in storage had worn bearings, thrown timing out of alignment, hardened lubrication, and left many parts needing careful cleaning and adjustment before safe testing. Unlike software-driven modern gear, this machine depended on precise mechanical synchronization. Every cam, gear, shaft, and linkage had to time perfectly for reliable packaging.
Restoring the old packaging machine revealed how industrial automation worked before PLCs and digital controls. Its logic used custom print plates and mechanically synchronized timing assemblies. Parts were damaged or missing, and documentation was scarce.
Once the packaging machine ran, I tackled turning production needs into manufacturable designs. I handled the technical design of CineStill’s cardboard boxes. Balancing dimensions, folds, tolerances, paper behavior, and machine timing. The project mixed restoration engineering, production planning, and practical manufacturing design.
