Plenty of case and tray packing solutions were on display at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, including the LSP Series case packer from Delkor Systems. The firm describes it as a single top-load case packer that’s suitable for any shipper style. This newly developed loader can pack pouches and large bags into deep cases at speeds as fast as 180 products/min, depending on the application and number of picking robots employed. The LSP is available in one- to five-robot configurations to meet practically any speed requirement and can place a variety of pouches into multiple types of cases.
The Fanuc M10 robots employed by the system work together to pick pouches in any orientation on the infeed conveyor. As demonstrated at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, the LSP series representative in action was an LSP 150 case packer using three Fanuc M10 robots.
The demonstration at the time of PW’s visit was of a club-store tray of pouched licorice. Unique to this demo, products enter the case packer flat on the conveyor, but pick heads load the product to stand upright within the tray, requiring the robots to orient them accordingly. A tilted conveyor feature simplifies upright loading in this application, allowing them to gently stack against one another upright at a slight angle. Still, when pick flat/load flat is necessary instead of pick flat/load upright, it’s easy enough to flatten the tilt and bring the conveyor down to horizontal without needing any tools at changeover. Given the size and shape of the licorice pouches being packaged, each robot could handle roughly 40 pouches/min. With three robots, that made for about 120 packages/min for line speed on the system demonstrated.
Notably, case packaging operations as demonstrated at the show were fed by two upstream case and tray forming modules. The Trayfecta G901 former quickly and efficiently forms retail ready cases (RRCs), regular brown cases (FSCs), club store trays for loading product uprights, or other corrugated case formats, all from 2D blanks with extremely quick, 3-min tool-less changeover. A Trayefect X module was also on the line, demonstrating the flexibility to run warped board. In this module, patent-pending tech pulls misshapen or warped corrugated blanks taught, into true 2D, prior to forming. Tandem 250-blank magazines on this Trayfecta X, holding 500 blanks at a time, minimize manual loading operations.
Changeover on the entire line demonstrated is only about eight minutes total—three minutes on the Trayfecta former being used, four minutes on the LSP case packer, and an extra minute on the case sealer at the end of the LSP line.
Also deploying robotics in its newest case packer offering is Brenton Engineering, which launched its XCP Series continuous motion, direct load case packer.Brenton Engineering
Nick Szczechowski, regional sales manager at Brenton, was on hand at the show to provide insight into the capabilities and features of this new machine. The XCP handles wraparound cases or trays for products in bottles, jars, canisters, cups, and other rigid packaging for the food, personal care, chemicals, and beverage industries—on the show demo, cylinder-shaped sanitary wipe packs were being case packed. The equipment offers flexibility by being able to process between 30 to 70 products/min. This scalability makes it suitable for a range of applications and industries, Szczechowski said.
The XCP features a robotic laner, developed in-house, that’s versatile enough to handle both round and square products. As Szczechowski guided PW editors through the machine, he highlighted the enhancements made to the case blank magazine. To prioritize user convenience, the magazine has been ergonomically positioned at floor height to simplify reloading operations—with a press of a button, the magazine advances forward, making the loading process efficient. The conveyor feed case blank loading system accepts three 26-in. stacks of blanks at a time.
In another ergonomic feature, Brenton also ensured that the machine is accessible from multiple points, which is beneficial during maintenance operations. Operators can open any of the machine's doors to get close to parts they might want to inspect, repair, or replace—they also can get within 6 in. of the corrugated blank at all operator-side entry points. Such design considerations make routine checks and troubleshooting straightforward for operators.
The XCP makes interesting use of QR codes, too. In today's fast-paced industrial landscape, swift access to machine information can drastically reduce downtime. With these QR codes, operators can quickly view the bill of material for any specific zone of the machine. For instance, if one is examining zone one and requires a detailed bill of materials, the information, presented with clear number indications, is readily available. To make matters even more streamlined, users can further expedite the process by ordering necessary parts online directly from the QR code information.
The XCP Series includes the XCP-30, XCP-40, and the XCP-C30, which are customized versions of the case packer.
SomicThe SOMIC 434 wraparound case packer 14 delivers different packing configurations, while improved accessibility in all areas of the machine enable up to 70% faster format changeovers. The case packer offers users in the food, non-food, cosmetics, and pet food industries greater flexibility in end of line packaging.
This machine can accommodate formats from flexible films, pillow packs, stand-up pouches, and flow packs to cartons, bottles, rigid containers, and thermoformed packages, explains CEO Peter Fox. “This machine can also be set up to run display trays, or with an added module we can run trays with covers for the ultimate retail-ready case,” he says.
The system is compact while featuring full-length doors for easy access into the machine. 180-degree opening of the machine guard doors makes it possible to use the entire space around the machine. The frame’s support structure—which has been moved to the inside—boosts access to the machine’s interior and ergonomic working conditions.
The machine uses the SOMIC CORAS collecting and grouping unit, integrated in a separate frame construction for flexibility when changing packaging concepts. CORAS employs a drive-and-positioning system using planar technology and carriers matched to the customer’s product.
The system enables definable, 360-degree orientation for products in cartons and allows for mixed formats with different product types. SOMIC reports that grouping and sorting tasks can be completed in a fraction of the space required by pick-and-place applications. Carriers and the transport field are designed for ease of cleaning.
Controls play an important role in both packing and format adjustment. “This machine is unique in that it’s using the ArmorKinetix decentralized servo control system. This is new for both SOMIC as well as for Rockwell,” says Fox. Most of the format adjustments are controlled by servomotors. By using the SOMIC QuickChange System to adjust folding tools, gluing positions, and the blank magazine, and to change individual format parts, the SOMIC 434 allows for time savings of up to 70% compared to its predecessor.
Sometimes stalwart existing machines or series of machines can benefit from customers requiring specialty or custom features. That was evident at the PMI Kyoto booth at PACK EXPO Las Vegas as a new version of the HCP-20 wrap-around case packer, which PW editors have seen for years at the event—sometimes as RSC, sometimes as top load, and sometimes as side-load. But this year, a wrap-around version of the HCP-20 was on the floor sporting a new, custom rotating plate. This rotating plate was designed to spin carton collations 90 deg before pushing them into a chute for wraparound case packing from a single 2D corrugated blank.
“We needed the ability to rotate the collation because in this case, the customer had a need to take the entire 24-count and turn it from long edge-leading to short-edge leading,” said Bryan Kreig of PMI Kyoto. “With the rotating plate, we can rotate the collation 90 degrees before loading it into the case.”
In the demonstration, 1-lb cartoned products were conveyed into the HCP-20 at 140 cartons/min, then arranged into multiple collations—such as 12- or 24-ct for the 1-lb cartons in the demo. Also available was a 12-ct collation for 14-oz cartons, or a 4-lb large carton at a 6-ct. In the demonstration, 4 x 6 rows of 1-lb cartoned products were collated square for a 24-ct, and that was split into two 2 x 6 rows by a separation plate. Each of those rows were side-loaded into the wraparound case blanks individually, after rotating from long-edge leading to short-edge leading on the plate.
JLS AutomationJLS Automation debuted its robotic Hawk case and tray loader 15 for food and beverage applications. Beyond case and carton loading, the top-load system also works well with flowwrapped or bagged products, trays, bars, clamshells, bottles, jars, cans, and other formats.
Says JLS’ Garrett Wampler, “We can use vacuum or mechanical tools to pick-and-place products into the cases. A very unique aspect of this machine is its small footprint—a typical machine sits in about a 4x5-ft footprint.”
The system uses Rockwell Automation architecture, and as Wampler notes, “Everything from the case controls to the product controls is cantilevered, so it’s easy to make adjustments and it can be easily moved in and out of production lines. This is great for co-manufacturers and co-packers that need the flexibility to move it from line to line.”
Targeting Contract Packagers
Texwrap presented at PACK EXPO its upgraded Texwrap Kayat SRX CUF bundler, which now accommodates unsupported product as a direct response to evolving industry needs. The machine targets the needs of contract packagers specifically and is incorporated both with preventative and predictive maintenance. The machine is able to handle up to 60 packages per minute running registered film.Texwrap
Brian Dennis, southwest regional manager at Texwrap, points out that the original SRX model, which was released the previous year, caters to supported product. However, recognizing the need to diversify for clients such as contract packagers, Texwrap decided to make the model more versatile by enhancing its capability to handle unsupported product as well. This strategic addition provides more flexibility in the packaging process, allowing for a wider range of products to be packaged efficiently.
This new model includes overhead metering pins that hold and group the product into the proper packaging format for the subsequent stages of the packaging process. The next step involves overhead plate bars that are strategically placed to carry the grouped product while it's still in lanes to the merge conveyor.
On this conveyor the bottles are organized into the final desired pack pattern and transported to the overwrap section. Film wraps around the product, starting from the bottom, and overlaps underneath the product. This ensures that the products are tightly packed and secure, minimizing any potential for damage during transportation or storage.
Another noteworthy feature Dennis emphasizes is the machine's startup assistance, which is recipe-driven and optional. When the operator alters the recipe in the HMI, the machinery auto-aligns all its components, ensuring a smoother transition between different products or batch runs. However, there's still a manual component involved. To switch to a different pack pattern, the operator must replace the roll of film and reposition the wrap arms.
Explore our editor-curated report featuring cutting-edge coding, labeling, and RFID innovations from PACK EXPO 2024. Discover high-speed digital printing, sustainable label materials, automated labeling systems, and advanced traceability solutions that are transforming packaging operations across industries.
Brenton Engineering
