One of APPMA member Cama’s latest BT Generation systems has been successfully installed by a major European player in the dairy sector, increasing the plant’s production efficiency and flexibility.
Cama’s customer was looking to invest in a new production plant to double its production volume from a single production line to reduce operating costs. In addition, the new line needed greater flexibility to run a wider range of formats and to help innovate with new packaging styles.
Cama’s solution was to engineer a complete system, comprising a high-speed MP sleever and an IF robotic loading unit, to pack sleeved glass jars of dairy desserts into shelf ready display cartons. Both machines belong to Cama’s BT (Break-Through) Generation of systems.
The sleeving machine handles the customer’s existing single jar format at 300 products per minute (ppm) to match the output of the plant. The machine’s ability to create additional formats, in single or double layer, met the marketing team’s requirement for flexibility in pack format as the brand grows in new export markets where consumer expectations are diverse.
The jars, received on a single lane, proceed in a single lane for single layer configurations or are divided into two lanes for double layer configurations. A motor driven double lateral star-wheel system spaces and phases the jars to the lateral clamping unit, which transfers a preset group into the sleeving station. Then, a rotary feeder picks up the carton sleeve and places it on two lateral flighted conveyors, which drive the sleeve on top of the collated jars. The sleeve is wrapped around the group of jars, then the bottom part is closed by hot melt. After gluing, the sleeved packs are transferred to the machine outfeed by a suitable conveyor.
“Thanks to 35 years of experience in the carton sleeving sector, with successful installations in major multinational companies, Cama’s sleeving machines provide flexibility, trouble-free running and high productivity,” the company said.
In the secondary packaging market of sleeving machines, Cama’s MP cardboard sleevers stand out for their technological innovation and high added value, including accessibility, ergonomic design, performance and functionality. They can pack (neck in and/or neck out) bottles, cups, jars, bricks, tins/cans and thermoformed containers from single and/or double lane in up to three product layers.
The IF Monoblock Loading Unit is composed of 3 modules (forming, loading, closing) and has been designed to load cartons or sleeved glass jars, in various formats, into display cartons. By using the top load principle, Cama was able to reconfigure the existing wraparound packaging styles already in use, while enabling a significant increase in pack speeds which was required for the new high speed line.
The top load principle also allows for easy handling of the various different formats (single and double layer sleeves) with simple change parts.
The products are received on two infeed systems at a maximum total speed of 300 products/minute. An integrated forming unit erects the required boxes, while a twin vertical race track system collates the products in the required configurations. A two-axis robot loads the collated products into boxes, which are then closed by an integrated closing unit and transported to the machine outfeed.
Integrated open flap detection and case reject on the machine outfeed ensures consistent quality outers are delivered to the automated palletising system.
