Deklor’s loader can pivot alternating containers to nest them in a carton, minimizing required carton space and maximizing pallet density.

Packaging lines must be fined-tuned, efficient and free of hold-ups, break-downs and stoppages. New innovations in cartoning machinery not only offer speed, but they bulk up on versatility and pack new methods for an ever growing market.

Speed

Higher speeds are always a goal for packaging, but speed alone is not sufficient. That speed must also come with consistency and precision. At PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013, Bradman Lake (www.bradmanlake.com) exhibited the new addition to their established HSS Carton Formers series. The new carton forming machine – the HSS300 all servo glue carton former – is capable of speeds up to 300 cartons or trays per minute.

Because consistent and square carton or tray erecting is critical for the efficient operation of a top load cartoning system, this HSS all servo carton former can erect cartons and trays using hot melt glue or four corner lock. The HSS machine utilizes a servo powered reciprocating ‘shuttle’ method of feeding the carton blanks into the forming tool. This guarantees consistent performance with quick and easy setup. The machine can erect various board types, including chip board and corrugated board, and carton types, including three flap closure, single flap closure with dust flaps, hooded lid closure, turn over end style and turn over end style with frame view.

Versatility

Not all packaging lines move the same products and shapes all the time. For these lines, a cartoner must be able to adapt to various packages. AFA (www.afasystemsinc.com) debuted a cartoner earlier this year called the HD-LSP – Heavy Duty Linear Servopack Autoload Cartoner. The versatile HD-LSP can handle bars, flow wrap packages and sachets. The HD-LSP incorporates the patent pending Sure-Load™ carton closing system, that ensures product does not have the opportunity to fall out of the carton during flap closing operation.

The HD-LSP features a Linear Servopack Infeed system which provides quick changeover for different pack patterns, accurate feedback and diagnostics, precise and fast positioning and high packing speed to maximize cartoning efficiency. The cartoner also features a patented end of arm tool from SUBO to pick multiple products from the Servopack buckets and then groups and expands to distribute the product layer on the cartoner’s specified pitch. 

Innovation

As mentioned in Food and Beverage Packaging’s cover story on page 20, robots are in big demand in all aspects of packaging. Delkor (www.delkorsystems.com) showcased a first-of-its-kind, high-speed robotic cartoning system at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013. The C1 1400 Robotic Packer integrates forming, loading and closing with detection device that locates and discharges out-of-place packaging before it can jam the system.

 Flexibility and efficiency are key features of the patent pending robotic packer, which can handle a wide range of case formats, sizes and packing patterns, as well as multiple substrates, including paperboard, microflute and corrugated materials. The loader achieves high levels of productivity by utilizing Delkor’s detect-and-discharge system to prevent line stops due to jamming during the collation process. In addition, tool-less changeovers can be accomplished in a matter of minutes to maximize uptime. The system also incorporates the Delkor Trayfecta® to form the cartons.