Ultrasonic banding system helps save pharmaceutical company cash

They were specifically designed to bundle their range of generic pharmaceutical products. Where the shrinkwrapper required several operators, each banding machine only requires one. The shrinkwrapper also created excessive heat, resulting in poor bundle quality and added energy costs.

The operator savings and lower materials cost made the banding machines cost effective right away,” says Pankaj Shah of Guardian, plant engineer with Dayton, NJ-based Guardian Drug. Material savings were derived from economical banding tape, which cost less than the rolls of shrink film. “The machines are also operator-friendly. We haven’t had any malfunctions.”

After the finished products discharge from the cartoner, the operator accumulates and inspects the boxes, then places them in a special side-driven conveyor. The rest is automatic; a pushing mechanism directs the six cartons 90 degrees off the conveyor and into the banding mechanism of the machine. The CornerLine banding system ultrasonically seals a paper or poly band around the 1x6 configuration of cartons. Bundles are advanced forward to a series of rollers that lead directly to a packing station. Production speed has increased enough to require an additional person to pack the finished products, Shah says.

Guardian Drug Company produces products in a wide range of carton sizes. To accommodate the various sizes, the system is manually adjusted to the dimensions of each box grouping.

“We’ve only had the machines a few months and we’ve already found them very useful,” Shah says. “And it only takes a few minutes to change over from one product to another. The equipment should pay for itself in less than a year and a half.”