Integrating artificial intelligence into blown film systems

A new era in blown film extrusion was unveiled at K 2025 as Octagon Blown Film Control marked a significant milestone in its 38-year history. The Octagon team welcomed visitors from more than 60 countries and showed off its technologies that are reshaping the future of blown film extrusion. Announcing its presence with a tagline “A New Era of Extrusion,” wasn’t just marketing rhetoric but a promise. A promise that Octagon kept by introducing Integrated Artificial Intelligence directly embedded into its blown film control systems, marking the industry’s first true leap into intelligent automation.

Unlike traditional automation that simply follows pre-programmed instructions, Octagon’s AI-powered systems think, learn, and adapt in real-time. This isn’t about replacing human expertise—it’s about amplifying it with technology that anticipates problems before they occur, optimises production continuously, and delivers results that were previously impossible to achieve consistently.

What makes this AI different?

The artificial intelligence that Octagon presented operates on four fundamental principles. The first principle is prediction, where advanced neural networks analyse current production conditions and predict future system behaviour with remarkable accuracy, allowing the system to make proactive adjustments rather than reactive corrections. The second principle – optimisation – involves the AI calculating optimal adjustments across multiple variables—air flow, temperature, pressure, and more— within milliseconds to maintain perfect film characteristics under any conditions. The third principle – execution – involves the application of corrections in real-time through seamless integration with all Octagon control systems, ensuring immediate response to production variations without human intervention. Lastly, the principle of learning ensures that every production cycle generates data that enhances the AI’s capabilities. The system literally becomes smarter and more efficient over time, creating a self-improving production environment.

The results speak for themselves: customers implementing the AI-powered solutions are experiencing up to 35% increases in production throughput and 70% reductions in thickness profile tolerances—metrics that translate directly into competitive advantage and profitability.

Innovative solutions deliver performance

Among the products launched at the exhibition is SmartLip ONE, a revolutionary system that features a game-changing single air inlet design that eliminates the complexity of traditional multi-inlet systems while delivering superior performance. The SmartLip ONE’s exclusive internal design achieves perfect air flow distribution through a single inlet, significantly reducing internal pressure and energy consumption.  

The SmartLip Automatic Air Ring ensures for precise control of transverse direction film thickness. With its innovative approach to air modulated gauge control, it swiftly achieves uniform film gauge and ensures on-time production alignment. Reducing tolerances by up to 70%, this special air ring ensures optimal properties for the manufacture of technical films. In addition to standardising quality, it reduces production cost and increases extruder production capacity by up to 30%.

Octagon’s proprietary thermal insulation is 85% more efficient than competing solutions, drastically reducing water condensation—a common problem that affects film quality and causes unscheduled downtime. Available in two models, with the Triple Lip specifically designed for maximum output applications, featuring Octagon’s robust elevation system with reinforced structure and digital positioning. Also, Octagon guarantees production gains by contract, demonstrating its absolute confidence in SmartLip technology.

Field-proven results demonstrate that SmartLip DL (Dual Lip) configurations deliver production gains of 23% compared to 16% from competitors, while SmartLip TL (Triple Lip) achieves 34% gains versus 25% from alternative solutions.

Innovation for Form-Fill-Seal applications

Octagon also recently launched its latest model, SmartLip ONE TL FFS (2026 model), a state-of-the-art air ring specifically engineered to meet the demands of the most challenging form-fill-seal (FFS) applications in the industry. The SmartLip ONE TL FFS (2026 model) represents an important milestone in the evolution of air ring technology for FFS film. Combining innovation, performance, and operational ease, this equipment is prepared to raise production standards in the packaging industry.

Form-Fill-Seal (FFS) film represents a specific and fundamental category in the automated packaging segment. Unlike conventional films, FFS film is characterised by its superior thickness and exceptional durability, essential elements for processes where mechanical strength and long-term stability are critical. The heavier resin layers present in FFS film provide superior mechanical properties, including: excellent tear resistance that is crucial to prevent ruptures during handling and transport; high puncture resistance which is essential to protect products from external damage; and dimensional stability to ensure package integrity over time. These characteristics make FFS film the ideal choice for demanding industrial applications, where packaging failure can result in significant product losses and high operating costs.

The main applications of FFS film include granulate product packaging where FFS film offers durability for stacking in warehouses and distribution centres; resistance during transport and logistics; protection for long-term storage; and product integrity maintenance throughout the entire supply chain. Another application is for powdered products such as cement, industrial additives, and food-grade powders, where FFS film provides precise filling as dimensional control allows exact dosing, reliable sealing to prevent external contamination, moisture barrier serving as essential protection for hygroscopic products, and storage integrity which allows for the maintenance of product characteristics. In the fertilizer and chemical segment, FFS film offers superior mechanical strength to support the weight and abrasive characteristics of these products, chemical resistance to protect against reactions with packaged products, safe handling to reduce risk during transport and storage, and regulatory compliance meeting where safety and environmental standards.

One of the most impressive highlights of the SmartLip ONE TL FFS is its production capacity. With throughputs of up to 600 kg/h with a die size of 180 mm, it bolsters production by up to 45% as compared to conventional systems. The system also enables greater operational efficiency and return on investment

The quality of the film produced shows significant improvements with up to 70% reduction of thickness profile tolerances, superior film uniformity, lower scrap rate, and greater consistency in final product quality. 

Complete production chain

Octagon also offers Smart Feeding Systems, a 100% stainless steel intelligent vacuum technology that ensures continuous, optimised material flow with fully automated operation. The SmartGDS & SmartBDS Gravimetric Dosing are precision dosing systems that guarantee accuracy up to ±0.5% of nominal value (SmartGDS) and 0.01% of batch volume (SmartBDS), with ROI typically achieved within months through raw material savings. Another product, Smart IBC (Internal Bubble Cooling) features high-precision dynamic control with Siemens S7 PLC for perfect cooling and bubble geometry management, with contractual guarantees on efficiency improvements.

The Calibration Basket is a sophisticated bubble stabilisation with diameter ranges from 140 to 1943 mm, featuring automatic opening/closing synchronized with width control systems. The company also offers its advanced sensors, PMS-B, PMS-FF, and VenPad thickness measurement sensors that deliver 0.1 µm resolution, while LMS and GMS width control systems provide ±1 mm accuracy. The ScenEx Pro Software is an intelligent brain that unifies all systems, providing real-time analytics, comprehensive reporting, and Industry 4.0 ready integration accessible via any device; while the GPA Evo is a laboratory-grade offline measurement equipment ensuring ISO and DIN compliance with millimetric precision. This unified architecture eliminates compatibility issues and ensures seamless communication between all systems.  

Octagon’s international team of engineers—trained at its German headquarters but stationed around the world—exemplifies its commitment to “German Technical Competence with Global Presence.” This model allows Octagon to provide local technical support with international excellence standards, ensuring that its customers receive world-class service regardless of location.