Conveying & accumulation

Robotic tray loaders speed cookie loading

A state-of-the-art line at Voortman Cookies in Canada uses 10 vision-guided robots to simultaneously pack cookies into five trays at 1걄 cookies/min. Saves C$450ꯠ/yr in labor costs and provides 10-minute tool-less changeover.

April 30, 1999

Controls & machine components: Page 330

Controls & machine components

Accu-Sort Systems, Inc: Imaging sorting system

Accu-Sort Systems' (Telford, PA) AccuVision Model 3264 imaging system uses VisionKey for remote keying of label information. It permits fully automatic sortation using customer-supplied labels with or without bar codes.

April 30, 1999

Bag/pouch fill/seal (pre-made bags)

Film's flexibility fits ice packs

Puncture-resistant film protects Forever Ice's 'reusable' ice to withstand repeated freezing and thawing. A custom tf/f/s machine improves efficiency.

April 30, 1999

Controls & Machine Components

Container versatility

Four height options (25", 29", 34", 39") and the availability of hinged drop doors in one or both of the 48" sides make Ropak's (Georgetown, KY) 40"x48" container versatile.

April 30, 1999

Controls & Machine Components

TriEnda Corp.: Returnable shipping system

The Tote Pak, a returnable shipping system from TriEnda Corp. (Portage, WI), cost-effectively increases assembly line and shipping efficiency. The system consists of identical top and bottom HDPE pallets and injection-molded HDPE totes that come in a variety of sizes depending on customer needs.

April 30, 1999

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

Convenience Food Systems: Convenience Food Systems: Versatile food packager

The Tiromat Powerpak from Convenience Food Systems (Avon, MA) makes standard flexible vacuum packages, rigid conventional gas-flushed packages and skin packs.

April 30, 1999

Controls & Machine Components

Parker Hannifin Corporation: Parker Hannifin Corporation: Instructional CD-ROM

Parker Hannifin, Compumotor Div. (Rohnert Park, CA), has introduced "Virtual Classroom," a free CD-ROM for engineers and integrators of electronic motion control equipment.

April 30, 1999

Controls & Machine Components

MRM/Elgin Corp.: Rotary piston filler

The Model RPF from MRM Elgin (Menomonie, WI) is a rotary piston filler for glass, metal or plastic containers. It fills liquids up to highly viscous personal care products.

April 30, 1999

Filling/capping, liquid & viscous

PneumaticScaleAngelus: Liquid filler

Pneumatic Scale (Cuya- hoga Falls, OH) has enhanced its Liquid Net Weigh Filler to improve the sterility of the filling mechanisms. Increased pressure in the supply tank forces all contaminants from product residue and cleaning solutions out of the system, according to manufacturer.

April 30, 1999

Controls & Machine Components

Ramsey: Point-level control

Ramsey, a Thermo Sentron Co. (Minneapolis, MN), now offers a complete line of point-level controls. New CAP Series Capacitance Level Controls offer point-level monitoring of solids in bins, vessels and chutes.

April 30, 1999

Controls & Machine Components

Dry product filler

The OPTIMA F1-3 from OPTIMA (Schwo/oobisch Hall, Germany) fills up to three rigid containers at once with dry or powdered product at speeds to 150 cpm.

April 30, 1999

Controls & Machine Components

Nordson Corporation: Hot melt drum system

The new model 5507 Drum Melter from Nordson Corp. (Duluth, GA) offers rapid set-up, delivery and replenishment of drum-loaded PUR hot melts. The automatic startup and temperature control systems permit high-volume, on-demand gluing and bonding operations while protecting thermal- and moisture-curing properties of the adhesive.

April 30, 1999

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Associated Packaging Equipment Corp.: Roll-fed labeler

Operating at speeds to 200 bottles/min, the PolyClad Junior 200 roll-fed glue-applied in-line labeler from Associated Packaging Equipment (Markham, Ontario, Canada) has a swing-out cutting guillotine station for easy maintenance and a quick-change vacuum pad.

April 30, 1999