OPI Products puts best foot forward with new Norden tube-filling line

OPI Products, Inc., North Hollywood, CA, is known for its fashion-forward nail-lacquer products. Over the last six years, however, the company recognized the growing popularity of spa-type salons nationwide, and jumped feet first into the pedicure products market. In March, OPI installed an NM 700 tube filler from Norden (www.nordenmachinery.com) to keep up with demand for its Pedicure by OPI and its Feet by OPI foot-care products.

During operation of the NM 700, tubes are placed horizontally by the operator into a feed manifold that holds approximately 90 bottles. Each tube is then fed down into a tilting station, where the tube is individually tilted and pushed, cap-side down, into an awaiting puck. The puck, affixed to a racetrack style-configuration conveyor, indexes the tube approximately four positions forward to an orientation station. There, a sensor checks an identification mark printed on the tube and adjusts the tube to the proper position for filling and sealing.

At the next station, the tube is lifted up and is filled with product from a volumetric piston filler fed from a hopper above. Once filled, the tube is again indexed to a sealing/crimping station, where the open end is sealed and receives a simple crimp, with an integrated batch-code number. At the last station, the crimped edge is trimmed, leaving a straight, clean line on top of the tube. The filler is integrated with controls and a PLC from Elau (www.elau.com).

After discharging from the machine, the tube moves through the custom tube-seal tester and then to a packoff station, where operators manually place the tubes in cartons or in trays.

To read the article that accompanies this video, see Two new lines handle manicure, pedicure products with ease, published Sept. 2008. To view a second video, detailing OPI’s new monobloc lotion-filling line, see Lotion line runs smoothly with new monobloc machinery.