Says the company’s director of engineering, Jack Grosskopf, “There are ‘opportunities’ in the Cubitainer container handling, filling, and capping aspects due to its composition. The plastic ‘container’ is not rigid or capable of supporting itself; it is supported by the cardboard box.”
As Grosskopf explains, conventional indexing systems, such as starwheels, do not fit this application, as the neck of the Cubitainer needs to be located and trapped for filling and capping, but cannot be used for indexing. This must be accomplished by moving the case. In addition, inconsistencies in the case substrate and the shape of the container mean that from one case to another or from one batch of cases to another, there can be case-dimension differences. “These tolerances accumulate in the filling and capping areas and can create issues in getting multiple nozzles and capping heads aligned with the neck openings,” Grosskopf relates.
