Report: Innovative New Machinery at PACK EXPO Connects

PMMI Media Group editors—covering a virtual event instead of an in-person exposition—divided and conquered to collectively take in as much of PACK EXPO Connects as possible. Here’s what they saw in the machinery category.

Image #1 in the article text.
Image #1 in the article text.

NOTE: Machinery wasn’t the only area of interest at PACK EXPO. Click the links that follow to read more about innovations in:

Materials Controls Robotics Pharma

As flexible packaging continues to grow in popularity partly due to its sustainability bona fides, it comes as no surprise that innovations in both vertical and horizontal form/fill/seal systems were on full display at PACK EXPO Connects. Here we take a brief look at seven notable developments, beginning with one from Triangle Package.Image #1 in the article text.Image #1 in the article text.

For liquid or semi-liquid fill applications, Triangle’s new Model XYTLF (vf/f/s) bagger (1) offers greater throughput, superior sanitation, and material savings, according to the company, all without a required film contract. Designed for foodservice and other applications, including hot fill and pumpable products, Model XYTLF packages products such as soups, sauces, mashed potatoes, bakery batters, and fruit fillings, as well as ready-to-eat macaroni and cheese. Speeds run up to 30 gal/min.

As demonstrated at PACK EXPO Connects, the Model XYTLF can be integrated with a Hinds-Bock pump or other liquid filler. Standard features on the Triangle X-Series include Rockwell Automation/Allen Bradley ControlLogix, AB Kinetics Servo Drives, and AB PowerFlex AC Drives.

Model XYTLF offers several unique benefits, including improved productivity thanks to an innovative design that uses servo filling with squeegee staging for better precision, flexibility, clean seals, no leakers, and less air in the bag. Since there is no film contract required, packagers can choose their own film supplier and have more control over material costs. The vf/f/s system is also a cost-saving alternative to premade bags or rigid containers such as cans.

Sanitary design features include quick removal of sealing jaws and back seal components for easy washdown, hygienic IP69K stainless steel motors with air purge, and pivoting control box for four sides of machine access. To top it off, optional features include ultrasonic sealing for higher speeds and 100% seal integrity, and check weight feedback for precise filling.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Triangle at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/140.

Image #2 in the article text.Image #2 in the article text.BW Flexible Systems’ new Hayssen ISB vf/f/s solution (2) aims to provide best-in-class sanitary design, modern industrial machine intelligence, and intuitive operation for vertical form-fill-seal packaging. To develop the ISB (intelligent sanitary bagger) BW Flexible Systems conducted voice-of-customer interviews in target markets—including fresh produce, frozen/individual quick freezing (IQF), and cheese—asking about pain points and preferred features.

“What we heard in those conversations was a need for an unparalleled hygienic design that was both easy to change over and flexible and intuitive to operate,” said Ed Haarsgaard, BW Flexible Systems’ Sales Leader for new machinery. “The Hayssen ISB delivers a powerful sanitary design and modern intelligent systems, made possible by our customer-centered approach and deep flexible-packaging knowledge from decades of experience.”

The entire machine is high-pressure washdown capable, including its human-machine interface (HMI), which would typically require protection due to its sensitive components. This vf/f/fs has earned an IP66 weather-proofing rating and a NEMA 4X rating for enclosures. Other hygienic features include its frame, which is an open-channel design with sloped surfaces built to have no more than one square-inch of surface-to-surface contact between components. Image #3 in the article text.Image #3 in the article text.

Furthermore, the Hayssen ISB uses standoffs and flanged fasteners to eliminate secondary hardware like washers, and the bagger’s film rollers are fully removable without tools and come completely sealed with lifetime bearings. In addition, vacuum belts, a potential source for contamination and pathogen growth, have been eliminated in favor of friction belts.

The Hayssen ISB’s HMI can be equipped with cellular network capabilities to communicate with tablets for training opportunities without affecting production needs. The system can self-diagnose potential issues in real-time and automatically calculate program values to maximize performance.

Changeovers on the Hayssen ISB are toolless except for the sealing jaws. The machine features passthrough film threading, and its entire unwind and film path has been engineered to provide immediate film tracking adjustments. Film tension is managed and maintained automatically using a laser measuring system.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Hayssen and BW Flexible Systems at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/146.Image #4 in the article text.Image #4 in the article text.

Mark Stenske, Service Manager for Matrix, a ProMach brand, used PACK EXPO Connects to demonstrate how the Matrix Bag-in-Bag provides an innovative way to fill single-serve and multiple-serve pillow bags in an overwrap or master bag.

The Matrix Elete Bag-in-Bag machine is essentially two machines in a single frame. In the demonstration, one bagger above was feeding into another below in a single enclosure. In a ground coffee application, the top section packages product into heat-sealed filter paper pouches, and the lower section bags those pouches in metalized film packs. Both rolls of filter-paper material and foil film are on the back of the machine. On the front, pull belts advance the upper filter paper as the vertical seal bar intermittently seals the top, and the end-seal jaws separate each filter-paper pouch, dropping them into a funnel to introduce the second portion of the machine.

There, on the bottom section, again pull belts advance the film, this time the metalized film, with horizontal seals making the end seal and a knife separating each metalized film pouch. All programs are saved into recipes and can be recalled into future runs.Image #5 in the article text.Image #5 in the article text.

Another application demonstrated included small, single-serve candy bags in registered film being filled into clear plastic film at a ratio of 10:1, equating to 90 primary bags/min and 9 secondary clear bags/min.

A third application, once again coffee filter pouches, uses a unique sideways-mounted jaw fixture in the upper machine to form filter-paper pouches into the round shape to match coffee brewing machine baskets. This means the pouches are oriented vertically as they exit the sideways-turned initial jaws and must be re-oriented via a transition funnel that twists the bag 90 deg to fit into the lower bag.

In all instances, the two sections are controlled independently via touchscreen HMI, and lengths, temperatures, and seal times are set independently. A clear enclosure allows easy windows into operations to monitor performance and correct any issues.

During the demo, attendees asked about ensuring safe transfer from top to bottom bag.

Image #6 in the article text.Image #6 in the article text.“Transfer is direct—in the top machine, the finished bag is formed nearly inside the top of the forming tube of the bottom machine,” said Stenske. “When the top seals are made and the bags are cut and released, it’s dropping straight down into the second bag. The machines have communication with each other, so as the top machine makes the bag, the bottom machine is ready to accept it and automatically go through its cycle.”

Other applications include snacks, trail mix, even single-serve pet food. As demonstrated, coffee applications used an auger filler from Spee-Dee.

“Pretty much any product you want to run bag-in-bag, we can do that,” Stenske concluded.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Matrix at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/300.

According to WeighPack Systems Inc., its extremely versatile XPdius Elite 1700 vertical bagger (6) is able to fill bags up to 17 in. W x 24 in. L and includes film tracking, tool-less removable pull belts, forming tube, and film roll. Video of the new large-format rollout is available in the company’s Virtual Showroom at PACK EXPO Connects. Available options include bag gusset attachment, gas flush, hole punch, tare notch, polyethylene sealing assembly, pivoting bag support, bag tapper for product settling, and lot code printing.

Capable of producing up to 3,000 large-format bags per hour, the XPdius vertical bagging machine includes twin servo motors and drives for its pull belt assembly and horizontal seal jaws. These drives assure total control over acceleration, deceleration, and positioning while ensuring high performance throughout production.

The XPdius vf/f/s machine can be integrated with any auxiliary weigh filling machine including Paxiom’s own PrimoCombi multihead weigher, Star Auger powder filling machine, or PrimoLinear net weigh filling machine.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Paxiom at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/796.

Modular platform for healthcare manufacturing
Optima Packaging Machinery’s Zero machine platform (3) has modularity at its core. The machine platform’s other key added features include format flexibility and an increase in output, as demonstrated by the OPTIMA Zero L1 version. Designed for packaging feminine hygiene and light-incontinence products, it packages these products into pre-made bags—usually PE, though other materials like paper or bio-based materials are also possible—that are conveyed from wickets.

With increasing demands for paper hygiene products, flexibility is key in providing a range of products on one machine, whether the products themselves are triple-folded, packed longways, or in a medium or small package. The new Zero machine platform is constructed to be completely modular. Some manufacturers may not require format changes in a given day or week, but the platform offers the option of achieving considerable time savings with motorized format changes and module shifting, as well as module changes.Image #7 in the article text.Image #7 in the article text.

The process can be adapted to the product when changing the format. One example of this is the OPTIMA Zero L1 welding module. When processing long-shaped products first and then small ones, by selecting the new format, the heat-sealing module moves closer to the stack. This makes the process more consistent and faster.

The OPTIMA Zero L1 offers the option to increase performance via a double extension, the “dual lane,” which is new in the feminine hygiene and light incontinence sectors. Modules can be switched without having to design a completely new process, so companies can be ready for future changes.

The system is based on a new machine structure. This can be assembled and built up in a range of varying lengths—for example, two meters or five meters long—and can accommodate the modules in different positions. In the past, the mounting positions for each unit were fixed.

The flexibility extends to software as well. The PLC has a modular design similar to what is used in mechanical engineering.

Simulation of the process and variants is performed during the design phase.

Optima describes the simulation of the machines’ interlocking functions and function sequences as a digital twin. This way, engineers in the design stage can see whether the mechanics, electronics, and software are working together in the desired way.

On the new Zero platform, Optima said there is more configuration and less design—more time is available to develop individual function modules. Up to now, it would have been necessary to develop a specific process around a specific module. All that is needed these days is to design and test the specific module and make individual adjustments in the plant, said the company.

Each customer only invests in the modules they need, whether they need equipment for a process capable of five format changes per day or a process that produces identical packaging at high speed for five weeks.Image #8 in the article text.Image #8 in the article text.

With the OPTIMA Zero L1, function modules can be adjusted. This allows modules to be added or the process to be adjusted optimally to the product and packaging formats.

If automated changeovers are not required—for less frequent format changes—a manual format change supported by adjusting wheels and counters will suffice. If, later on, the need arises for rapid format changes, this can be done using exchangeable modules.

Optima is currently developing additional modules for the OPTIMA Zero L1. These modules are designed for processing particularly small formats, larger-sized products, two-layer package configurations, and triple-folded products, etc.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Optima at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/483. 

Late-stage customization
At least two exhibitors at PACK EXPO Connects focused on late-stage customization solutions. First there was Buskro,
which debuted its Package Personalization System (PPS) at PACK EXPO Connects. Developed for variable-data printing, personalization, or late-stage customization, it’s a modular solution (4) that incorporates digital drop-on-demand ink jet print heads, typically (though not necessarily) from Kyocera. According to Kyle Kropman, Marketing Coordinator at Buskro, the sheet-fed PPS is suitable for four-color CMYK printing on paperboard or corrugated packaging. Thanks to the inherent flexibility and plate-free nature of digital printing, this system represents a way for a brand owner, for example, to inventory far fewer varieties of pre-printed packaging because it makes it possible to print multiple versions of packaging with little or no make-ready time. Built on its Modular Transport Base, the PPS can be customized for a variety of substrates.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Buskro at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/608.

Image #9 in the article text.Image #9 in the article text.And then there was a demo by Atlantic Zeiser, a Coesia company, where the star of the show was their Digiline Versa system (5) designed specifically for late-stage customization. It utilizes digital ink-jet print head technology from Ricoh and UV-curable inks that are suitable on flat substrates such as paperboard, plastic film, or metal. So if different languages are required, or a brand owner wants QR codes on certain cartons but not on others, or if certain demographic groups require varied graphics on cartons holding the same product, all you have to do is divert cartons to the Digiline Versa system as they leave the cartoner. It’s a great way for brand owners to segment and differentiate their packaging to serve market micro niches. It’s all about localizing, personalizing, and customizing packaging at the latest possible stage in the packaging process.

The one installation where this new Digiline Versa system is in use commercially is at a cosmetics company that is printing flat carton blanks before they even reach the folder/gluer. The blanks are folded and glued in line as they leave the Digiline Versa and then proceed immediately to the cartoning machine.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Atlantic Zeiser at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/219.

Horizontal form/fill/seal
Moving now to the hf/f/s side of things, we come to Volpak, a Coesia company, which introduced at PACK EXPO Connects the SC+ machine (7). Setting it apart, says Volpak, is that both the roll-fed unwind module and the rotary turret on which formed pouches are filled and sealed rely on a continuous-motion principle. Typically, these are both more likely to be intermittent-motion operations. Because the film being fed into the machine is pulled constantly without having to stop and pull and stop and pull, there is far less tension on the film. This greatly reduces the chance for film breakage, especially where thin films are concerned.

Forming of pouches is done on a module that is not unlike the systems Volpak has offered in the past, and it is done on an intermittent-motion basis. But when it’s time to transfer the formed pouch into the filling turret, once again the machine reverts to continuous motion. Held by a bag gripper, each pouch is opened , blown open, stretched open, filled, and then sealed.

Volpak says the first installation of the machine is at an Argentinian maker of liquid laundry detergent in 950-mL pouches, and they’re running at 280/min. Now in development, the firm adds, is a system that will do a similar pouch but it will be cut at a 45-degree angle so that a corner-fitment pouring spout can be applied. Two other things worth noting. The SC+ comes in three versions. The one that runs at the highest speeds, predictably enough, is for small  pouches in  the range of 100 to 500 mL. A second version is  for pouches ranging from 250 mL to 2 L, and a third version runs pouches as large as 3 L. And finally, the SC+ is also available in a version that is not roll-fed where the filling turret receives premade pouches.Image #10 in the article text.Image #10 in the article text.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Volpak at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/207.

With increased snack food demand in 2020, pouching systems have been a popular choice for machinery due in part to the pandemic and people spending more time at home. At PACK EXPO Connects, PPi Technologies Group showcased the new SN FME 50 (8), a small-footprint hf/f/s machine from SN Maschinenbau designed for short lead times and an entry level price point for end users packaging snack foods, gummies, herbs, spices, powdery products, lotions, and more.

Thom Cain, sales support manager at PPi, said that for the past few years, the industry has seen a push to run thinner, monomaterial films because multi-layer films aren’t easy to recycle. “But if a machine is not designed to run that material, it can rip.” With package sustainability in mind, the SN FME 50 is designed to run recyclable films, pulling evenly to avoid tearing without sacrificing speed.

The system runs at speeds up to 100 pouches/min and is capable of format changeover (toolless, as much as possible) in less than 15 min. With a small footprint of approximately 12.0 ft. x 4.10 ft. x 6.6 ft., the system doesn’t require much space to get new packaging capacity up and running.

With an added multi-head weigher (from a scale vendor) the machine can run gummies, which have seen increased demand in the nutraceutical and cannabis industries. Delivery speed is a main feature of the SN FME 50—remote installation can be completed in a few days.

The company also showcased the SN FM 060 125 system, a hf/f/f system with basic, premium, and washdown variants.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by PPi Technologies at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/486.

New from Cloud Packaging Solutions, the CMR II continuous-motion hf/f/s machine  can be configured for a wide range of complex filling applications. Among its features, the machine can handle pouches from 4 to 12 in. W x 6 to 15 in. H, with a gusset of zero to 5 in., operates at speeds to 140 pouches/min, is compatible with a wide variety of zipper closures, and is USDA-washdown sanitary.

Pouches are formed in duplex intermittent motion for the entire bag range, with individual compression control on each tooling post to ensure the highest quality pouch is formed. Once formed, pouches are transferred into continuous motion where they are secured on each side by grippers, after which they are filled by way of a traveling duckbill funnel that provides three times the fill time and allows for precise product filling, preventing product spillage and top-seal contamination.

Image #11 in the article text.Image #11 in the article text.It’s the traveling duckbill funnel that allows the CRM II to fill difficult-to-pack products because it dives into the pouch then opens to maximize the opening of the pouch and extend the filling time, which allows the machine to slow product down and meter it out. The duckbill funnels can be agitated and can also utilize baffles to assist in packaging difficult products.

According to Kyle Scalise, Global Account Manager at Cloud Packaging Solutions, who unveiled the new machine during a live demo at PACK EXPO Connects, “Cloud developed this machine as the next generation of our existing machine, the CMR 1500. The CMR has been very successful for us over the years in all dry-flowable piece applications, especially with very large fills. It has been embraced specifically in the pet food industry where products have difficult geometries and large fills, where a traveling funnel extends the fill time, allowing more time for the product to get into the pouch.

“We developed this next-gen CMR, the CMR II, after many discussions with our customers, asking them what their pain points were. We gathered this intel and found common difficulties: changeover time from one pouch to another, difficulty of changeover, and maintaining quality operators/personnel. With that in mind, we designed a machine to eliminate the complexity of a changeover by automating as much of it as realistically possible, thus dropping the requirement for highly trained individuals needed to perform the changeover.”

Automatic changeover can be completed in just 15 minutes. Scalise said that the tooling posts have the ability to run the whole bag range in the machine. In contrast to the past, where the end-user had to purchase multiple sets of tooling posts, now it is the one tooling post that ships with the machine that can run the entire pouch range.

Scalise added that the CMR II has the ability to run its entire bag range in duplex on the bagmaking section, eliminating the need for a timely change from duplex to simplex bag forming. The machine also features individual compression control on each tooling post, allowing for more flexibility in the variety of films and zippers that can be used.

The CMR II is built and designed in the U.S., in Des Plaines, Ill., with all parts and service dispatched from that location.

Check out the many packaging solutions featured by Cloud Packaging Solutions at their PACK EXPO Connects Virtual Showroom, found at PE.show/519.

Image #12 in the article text.Image #12 in the article text.E-commerce offerings
Packsize International LLC’s line of On Demand Packaging box-converting machines and accessories have proven to be a sustainable and cost-effective way to optimize e-commerce shipping cases. According to the company, rightsizing packaging using its solution results in an average savings of 20% to 30% on packaging-related costs, such as shipping, materials, and DIM weight charges.

Pharmaceutical Innovations Report
Discover the latest breakthrough packaging technologies shaping the pharmaceutical sector. This report dives into cutting-edge innovations, from smart containers that enhance patient safety to eco-friendly materials poised to transform the industry’s sustainability practices. All from PACK EXPO. Learn how forward-thinking strategies are driving efficiency and redefining what’s possible in pharma packaging.
Learn More
Pharmaceutical Innovations Report
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Discover which palletizing technology—robotic, conventional, or hybrid—will maximize your packaging line efficiency while minimizing long-term costs in this comprehensive analysis.
Read More
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?