Graphic Packaging Intl.: Carrier and gift card placement system

Operating at a rate of 42 cycles/min. or 210 hang cards/min., the machine reduces labor to produce a high output of finished “store-ready” product.

Five paper carriers are placed into a fixtured indexing servo conveyor by a multi-lane reciprocating vacuum placer. The carriers travel past a hot melt glue system where a strip of glue is applied to each carrier. The carriers move to the next station where five CR80 cards are placed onto the corresponding carriers. A five-lane reciprocating discharge station removes one set of carriers and CR80 cards onto a shingling conveyor. The shingling conveyor accumulates and shingles the finished carriers and cards in the same five corresponding rows as loaded for accountability of card identity.

Equipped with Yaskawa motion control and 6-in. color operator interface, alarms are easy to view, and machine adjustments and settings are easy to change.

The custom-engineered fixtured conveyor, coupled with reliable pick and place machinery, enables +/- 1/64-in. placement tolerance of the card on the carrier.