Indramat meets cartoning challenge

Indramat meets cartoning challenge

Keywords Automation,Cartoner, Packaging

Machine control and drive specialists Indramat have successfully met a challenge presented by a large food manufacturer.

The company sought to dramatically increase cartoning flexibility while maintaining high standards for crush-free packaging and on-time deliveries.

The aim was to quickly switch between handling individually-wrapped chocolate bars, cereal bars and snack cakes in varying sizes and multi-pack biscuits and crackers.

They also wanted the ability to quickly adapt to future product-line changes without extensive machine re-configuration and downtime, or the purchase of additional equipment.

To achieve all these goals, the company installed an Indramat-controlled eight-axis servo-driven intermittent motion collator/cartoner system that accurately cartons up to 120 single or double-pack products a minute (Plate 5).

The cartoner uniformly collates finished packages, rejecting any that do not meet maximum length or minimum gap requirements. Then it stacks multiple products, erects a carton,inserts the products and delivers the full carton to the glue station for sealing. A single Indramat open-architecture CLC control card plugs into a VME bus rack to control all eight digital servo axes.

Machine installation was completed in 14 days, compared to more than a month for mechanical systems, as there were reduced wiring and interconnections owing to the SERCOS interface between controls and digital drives.

Plate 5 Intermittent motion cartoner

Indramat's digital CLC control system enables this single cartoner machine to easily handle the company's wide range of product configurations and carton sizes. Both electrical and mechanical changes for product changeover are accomplished in ten to 30 minutes, compared to the hours or days spent for changeover and fine tuning with previous designs.

By entering job parameters at a central MMI station, the operator quickly sets up the system for production. The control electronically synchronises all eight axes, with no need for time-consuming trial-and-error adjustments. Digital parameterisation allows storage of previous job set-ups and enables repeat product runs with the push of a button.

The food manufacturer consistently achieves superior packaging quality using Indramat's DDS/MDD digital AC servo drives to provide infeed speed over 70m/min., with total product positional accuracy on the machine better than 2.5mm. Probe inputs on the drives provide high-speed registration of exact product location and orientation, minimising product jams and rejects.

The modular CLC control system claims to greatly improve the cartoner's reliability. Direct power-line connections eliminate transformers and associated external power control components, while the system's extensive real time monitoring of all operating data and diagnostic/status messages speeds troubleshooting. The digital controls also require less cabinetry and floor space.

For further information please contact: Mannesmann Rexroth Ltd, Indramat Division, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5UH, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1285 863000; Fax:+44 (0) 1285 863003.