Position Measurement and Connectivity: Improving Efficiency and Production Continuity in the Food Industry
From product handling to packaging, from conveyor synchronisation to format changeovers, every stage of food production demands precision, reliability and uninterrupted operation. At Cibus Tec, ELAP (Consorzio Profinet booth – Hall 2 – Booth M 068) will showcase a range of position measurement solutions including the new IO-Link absolute linear transducers, IO-Link absolute encoders and MEM-Bus absolute encoders with Profinet and EtherCAT interfaces, designed to meet the requirements of modern Food & Beverage production lines.
From bread, biscuit, confectionery, snack and fresh pasta production lines to fruit and vegetable processing plants, as well as sterilisation, pasteurisation, filling, capping and packaging machines, modern food manufacturing systems all share a common requirement: moving products with precision, repeatability and speed while maintaining perfect synchronisation throughout every stage of the production process. Depending on the application, products must advance along the line in regular, predetermined steps, often at very high speeds, ensuring correct coordination between every processing phase.
Within this context, position measurement and motion control play a crucial role not only in ensuring finished product quality, but also in maintaining production continuity, reducing waste and minimising machine downtime. Starting from these application requirements, ELAP has developed a range of measurement systems designed to integrate seamlessly into modern automation architectures, providing machine builders with reliable tools for controlling production processes.
Precision Across the Entire Production Line
Many critical functions in food processing lines rely on signal transducers. These devices monitor axis positions, verify material feed and product movement, control conveyor speed and electronic synchronisation, ensure accurate positioning in filling machines and contribute to continuous monitoring of line operation. Besides, in packaging machinery they guarantee correct alignment of packaging materials, helping maintain both product quality and process continuity.
The most widely used transducers are incremental encoders and, in more recent machine designs, absolute encoders featuring industrial communication interfaces such as Profinet, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and IO-Link. The transition towards these solutions represents a strategic step forward for modern food processing machinery, combining highly accurate position measurement with the ability to integrate sensors directly into the automation architecture, making them an active part of the control system.
Speed control and positioning accuracy are key factors in achieving both production quality and efficiency. Thanks to high resolution, measurement accuracy, repeatability and steady signal transmission, ELAP systems help optimise production times while maintaining consistent process quality even in high-speed applications. Their stout aluminium housing, together with resistance to shocks, vibrations and the demanding conditions typical of industrial environments, also ensures long-term reliability and uninterrupted operation.
From Position Measurement to Data: The Role of Connectivity
While precision and repeatability remain the essential requirements of any measurement system, they are no longer sufficient on their own in modern food production lines. The growing adoption of digital automation architectures, together with increasingly rapid format changeovers, diversified production batches and more advanced maintenance strategies, calls for devices capable not only of detecting position but also of communicating with the control system, providing valuable information for configuration, diagnostics and overall plant management.
Against this backdrop, switching from incremental or conventional absolute encoders to solutions featuring Profinet, EtherCAT and IO-Link interfaces marks a significant evolution in food machinery automation. Sensors no longer simply transmit position values; they become intelligent nodes within the automation network, capable of exchanging data, receiving configuration parameters and supporting continuous monitoring of the production process.
This is precisely where ELAP’s offering comes into play. The company has developed a comprehensive range of solutions supporting the main industrial communication 
protocols. Alongside MEM-Bus absolute encoders with Profinet and EtherCAT interfaces and IO-Link absolute encoders, ELAP will also present its new IO-Link absolute linear transducers at Cibus Tec, expanding a portfolio enabling machine builders to adopt a common approach to integration and communication for both rotary and linear position measurement. In food processing machinery, this translates into tangible advantages during format changeovers, maintenance operations, commissioning and production line shutdown management. Besides, the availability of different communication protocols allows designers to select the solution best suited to each application.
In packaging, bottling and thermoforming machines, where motion synchronisation is essential even at maximum production speeds, EtherCAT provides real-time communication with cycle times of up to 1 ms, enabling synchronised axis control while reducing product waste and machining inaccuracies.
For plants featuring particularly sophisticated automation architectures, Profinet offers advanced tools for continuous device monitoring and diagnostics directly through the control system, while simplifying machine integration.
Finally, IO-Link provides a highly effective solution for sensor digitisation. Using a standard three-wire unshielded cable, it transmits not only position data but also configuration parameters, operating hours and diagnostic information.
The real added value, however, lies not in the protocol itself but in the opportunities it offers machine builders. With IO-Link, for example, the Data Storage function enables the master to store sensor configuration automatically and transfer it to a replacement device whenever necessary. If an encoder needs replacing, the new unit automatically receives the correct configuration, drastically reducing machine downtime and minimising the need for specialist intervention.
Flexibility and Production Continuity
The adoption of absolute encoders with advanced connectivity delivers tangible benefits in three key areas for the Food & Beverage industry: faster format changeovers and machine restart, access to diagnostic information and simplified machine integration.
The first benefit concerns position management. Unlike incremental encoders, absolute encoders retain position information even after a power failure or when the machine is stopped for cleaning operations. As a result, there is no need to perform a homing cycle when production resumes, since the controller immediately knows the actual position of every axis. In food processing lines, characterised by frequent format changes and scheduled shutdowns, this significantly reduces restart times while minimising the risk of mechanical collisions, positioning errors and scrap during the first production stages.
A second advantage lies in the availability of diagnostic information. Besides position values, encoders equipped with advanced communication interfaces can transmit operating parameters, running hours, alarm signals and other data allowing continuous monitoring of both the sensor and the mechanical component connected to it. This information helps identify potential anomalies at an early stage and schedule maintenance during planned production stops or sanitation procedures, preventing unexpected line shutdowns.
The third aspect concerns easier integration. Fieldbus technology and industrial communication networks reduce machine wiring, providing benefits both during design and throughout assembly and commissioning. With IO-Link, power supply and communication share a single three-wire unshielded cable, simplifying installation while reducing wiring complexity.
Position Measurement Solutions for Every Application
Developing measurement systems for modern food processing machinery requires the perfect combination of mechanical robustness and electronic intelligence. This principle underpins ELAP’s approach, developed to meet a wide variety of application requirements through a range of solutions combining measurement accuracy, reliability, ease of integration and advanced connectivity. High-speed packaging lines, filling systems, bakery processing machines and fruit and vegetable sorting equipment all require different performance levels, mechanical configurations and communication protocols.
To address these diverse requirements, ELAP has developed a comprehensive portfolio enabling designers to select 
the most suitable position measurement solution for every application without compromising a common integration and management philosophy.
A good example is the MEM-Bus series of absolute encoders supporting the main industrial communication protocols, including Profinet, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and IO-Link. Designed for the most advanced production systems, they offer resolutions of up to 29 bits, ensuring outstanding accuracy and repeatability, while compact gearless electronics provide excellent dynamic performance and a long operating life. A wide range of mechanical configurations, including different flange designs and both solid- and hollow-shaft versions, meets a broad variety of design requirements. UL certification also facilitates use in the US and Canadian markets. Besides, ELAP develops customised versions tailored to the specific requirements of individual machines whenever standard solutions are not sufficient.
The new IO-Link absolute linear transducers extend the same approach to linear position measurement, offering strokes from 50 to 950 mm, linearity up to ±0.075%, repeatability better than 0.01 mm and resolutions of up to 4,096 positions across the measuring range. Their mechanical construction, featuring an anodised aluminium housing, stainless-steel rod, IP65 protection rating and resistance to shocks and vibrations, ensures reliable operation even in demanding industrial environments, with a declared service life of up to 100 million operating cycles.
Rather than simply expanding the product range, the introduction of these new linear transducers completes a technology portfolio allowing machine builders to adopt a consistent approach to both rotary and linear position measurement while taking full advantage of digital communication throughout the machine architecture.
Technology, Expertise and Application Support
The availability of increasingly advanced devices is now only one of the elements required to design efficient and reliable food processing machinery, ready to meet the challenges of digitilisation. Equally important is selecting the most suitable solution for each application, taking into account machine characteristics, required performance and the control architecture adopted.
For this reason, ELAP supports machine builders and system integrators not only with a comprehensive range of measurement and control systems, but also with technical expertise focused on selecting the most appropriate solution, ensuring its correct integration into the application and, whenever required, developing customised versions tailored to the specific requirements of individual machines.
In modern food production lines, the measurement system is no longer simply a component dedicated to position detection. It has become an active part of the automation architecture, capable of communicating with the control system, contributing to process data availability and supporting increasingly advanced plant management and maintenance strategies.
This evolution enables machine builders to address today’s growing demands for production flexibility, operational continuity and rapid machine reconfiguration more effectively. ELAP responds to these challenges through a comprehensive portfolio of solutions developed to support the digital transformation of modern food production lines, providing measurement devices, application expertise and technical support throughout the entire machine development cycle.
Visit ELAP at Cibus Tec 2026
Fiere di Parma, October 27–30, 2026
Hall 2, Booth M068 (Consorzio PI Italia stand)
Register here to obtain your free entrance ticket!
Not all of the solutions in the ELAP catalogue will be on display at the trade show, but ELAP technicians at the stand will be ready to show visitors the full range of our automation products.
We look forward to welcoming you!
Since 1968, ELAP has been a partner for companies in the industrial automation sector, offering electronic instrumentation for process control and measurement. The wide range of innovative solutions and multiple services, from consulting in the selection of ideal components to the development of customised solutions, allow ELAP to provide efficient and reliable solutions, appreciated by the most important companies in every segment of the manufacturing industry.
For information and advice, the company’s technicians can be reached on +39 02 45 19 56 01 or via email at commerciale@elap.it; detailed information on ELAP solutions is also available on elap.it website.
ELAP AutomazioneIndustriale
Via Vittorio Veneto 4
20094 Corsico (MI)
Tel. +39 02 45 19 56 01
commerciale@elap.it
www.elap.it