ADCO Manufacturing showed off a range of product packaging solutions at PACK EXPO Connects. During the top load cartoning machinery demonstration, the company identified the benefits of top load which can form, pack, and close the product while just loading the carton once. Top load systems have multiple pieces including the carton former, packaging conveyor, and then the closer to close the flap and seal the front. When done, it looks identical to horizontal or vertical end load cartoning. But a big benefit also being that the carton blanks are flat so about 50% or more blanks can fit in the same space as pre-glued end load cartoning, which saves on shipping and storage.
But the big reveal during this demonstration was ADCO’s latest innovation: 3D printed carton forming tooling. Carton forming tooling can be complicated and involves a lot of machining. “But ADCO has been utilizing and refining 3D printed tooling to create our forming tooling fixtures for about the last year,” said Colin Warnes, ADCO’s director of sales engineering and project management.
