VANTA-With The World: Six Points to Think About When Selecting a Case Packer

VANTA-With The World: Six Points to Think About When Selecting a Case Packer

Six Points to Think About When Selecting a Case Packer

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In packaging industry, there are many kinds of case packers, including drop packers, rotary packers, wraparound packers, mechanical soft placement packers, robotic packers, side load packers, and bottom load packers. The following factors provide some basic considerations that can be used in the process of selecting a case packer.

1.    Type of Case: The starting point for determining the optimal case packer is to identify the type of case for the packaging application. While dozens of case types exists, a few of the more common are: 1) top load RSC (regular slotted container); 2) side load RSC or end load RSC; and 3) wraparound. Often case type is predetermined, as the product is already in the market and product marketers or retailers may insist on maintaining the status quo. For example, liquor stores strongly prefer RSC top load cases over wraparound, as the RSC case has utility for customers who buy several bottles. However, when case type is not predetermined, the best case should protect the primary container while economizing corrugated. Top load RSC cases offer the best stacking strength and are ideal for compressible products such as pouches, large PET bottles, personal care and trigger bottles. Top load cases also allow for partitions to increase stacking strength or to minimize bottle to bottle contact. Where bottle or product protection is not as critical, wraparound cases are a good alternative and can sometimes require fewer square inches of corrugated in comparison to RSC cases.

2.    Primary Product: The type of container (or primary product) will often influence the packer type. Expensive beverages such as top shelf spirits require a partitioned case, which will usually dictate a drop packer or soft placement packer. Side load case packers are often used for boxed items like dry pasta or bars of soap because pushing the product from the side is easier then top loading. Larger items, such as #10 metal food cans or wheels of cheese work well in wraparound style packers. For the larger products such as outdoor grills, bottom load packers are most gentle on the primary product, as the case is pushed over the product.

3.    Line Speeds: The rate of the line, as dictated by the upstream filling or processing is a key factor when selecting the correct packer. Selecting a packer with enough speed is important, however too much speed may be an unnecessary cost. Generally speaking, speeds below 20 cases per minute can be done effectively with side load packers, bottom load or robotic packers. For speeds from 20 to 35 cases per minute, drop packers or intermittent motion wraparound packers are good choices. Soft placement packers, servo drop packers, rotary packers, and continuous motion wraparound packers are able to handle speeds above 35 cases per minute. Carefully consider a packers infeed and laning technology, as this becomes critical at higher speeds.

4.    Machine Load: It is essential when selecting a case packer to ensure that it is designed for the job and the best way to determine this is to see one running a similar application. Consider factors such as weight of the product being handled, true production rates, and runtime per week. Is the filled case weight 50 pounds with a production demand of 24 hrs/day x 7 days/week? If so, this requires a truly robust solution and although the initial cost may be higher, the reduced life cycle costs will justify the initial investment. Find a supplier who has a proven solution for the specific application requirements.

5.    Floor Space: Plant floor space is a premium and some solutions can take up more space than others. Intermittent motion wraparounds are usually space efficient versus alternatives; however continuous motion wraparounds are usually very wide and long. Drop packers and soft placement packers offer narrow profiles with flexible layouts (inline, counter-flow, or right angle). Although robots can be space efficient, consider the guarding requirements in the layout.

6.    Changeover and Flexibility: In this area, all machines are not created equal. Robotic Packers are best in this category with quick changeovers. Some can even be partially automated. Drop Packers come in second and have the benefit of easy and simple changeover. Rotary packers and soft placement packers’ fall somewhere in the middle, as there are more change parts to handle. Wraparound packers are usually the least flexible, in particular for new packages that are added in the aftermarket.

Vanta-36000BPH bottle production line

How To Choosing Between a Robotics Integrator and Manufacturer

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When a factory wants to employ robotic palletizer, he may have two choices: one is to buy the robotic palletizing system from a robotics integrator; the other is to buy directly from the robot manufacturer. Different people may have different choices depend on the situation he is in.

Here we would like to conclude some advances so that people can make a better decision.

Why using an integrator:

•       Experience – Most robotic integrators are not jack-of-all trades.  They usually specialize in one or a few areas of expertise and become the experts in those areas.

•       Depth – Since integrators aren’t tied to any particular robotic manufacturer, they are able to help you select the best product mix for your application.  Whether you need palletizing robots, machine tending robots, or accustom End of Arm Tool (EoAT), an integrator can provide you with the best combination of equipment to fit your application and budget.

•       Partnerships – Many integrators have one or more preferred vendors in each product category, so they will get volume pricing discounts. Plus, they have alternative vendors to choose from should problems arise (i.e. long lead times).

•       Support - Larger integrators have professional support and sales people in your local area.  Some even have regional offices that can handle simple problems, and bigger problems are usually taken care of within a day or so.

•       Training – As part of buying a robotic solution, there is usually some amount of customer training that goes along with operating the system.  Since nearly every system is somewhat different, receiving training on how to use it from the people who put it together is very beneficial.

Why buying direct from the robot manufacturer:

•       Single source support - Some people like the idea of dealing with one company–the robot manufacturer (i.e. ABB, Fanuc, or KUKA, Vanta).  They feel that if something goes wrong, they won’t have a bunch of vendors pointing fingers at each other.

•       Large company – Most robot manufacturers are large companies or divisions of larger parent companies.  For some, working with larger companies provides peace of mind in knowing that company will be around for years to come.

•       Multi-faceted – If you have multiple automation projects you’re trying to tackle, such as material handling and welding, you might be able to find a manufacturer that has standard solutions for both, which reduces the need to bring in additional companies.

•       Standardization – Although standardization doesn’t always offer the best solution or cheapest price, it can cut down on the number of support personnel and training you have to do for your people.

Shrink Sleeve Label Printing and Application

There are different ways to apply a shrink sleeve onto a product, most notably by machine or hand.

Shrink sleeves applied by hand are done using a shrinking-specific hot air gun or heat tunnel.

Consolidated Label can manufacture single cut sleeves or provide sleeves on rolls for machine application. Mechanical application is generally preferred over hand application because it’s less labor intensive and quicker. Mechanical shrinking equipment like radiant heat tunnels, hot air tunnels, steam tunnels and hybrid tunnels (combines heat and steam) are some of the most popular methods for shrinking sleeves onto containers.

Consolidated Label uses a steam tunnel for internal quality checks and prototyping. We recommend that customers use a steam tunnel for their shrink sleeve applications because it uses less energy to run than other types of tunnels, produces better results and is easier to configure. Steam tunnels are becoming the label industry’s standard method of shrinking sleeves onto filled product containers because its relatively low temperatures (usually between 170-180 degrees) make it safe for filled products to pass through.

Steps of Shrink Sleeve Label Printing

1. The label design is mirrored and printed on the inside of the shrink sleeve material using a flexographic or digital printing press.

2. The printed material is checked for quality control by machine and human inspection.

3. The printed material is seamed together by machine using a small amount of a heated adhesive to create the sleeves for application.

4. The roll of sleeves goes through an air inspection machine to ensure the integrity of the seam.

5. The sleeves are wound up on a roll or cut into individual sleeves depending on the order.

Merry Christmas All The Friends!

Industries Using Shrink Sleeves

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Almost every product industry can use shrink sleeves, however, Consolidated Label has found that certain industries benefit the most from shrink sleeves.

Food & Beverage – Shrink sleeves work well with food & beverage products (especially juices, energy drinks, alcoholic beverages) because the tamper evident protection seal keeps food & beverage products from being opened intentionally or unintentionally. The aesthetic design also can tempt consumers’ taste buds with vibrant colors and graphics.

Pharmaceutical & Nutraceutical – Product safety is an important factor when making custom labels for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Shrink sleeves’ tamper evident protection seal, damage resistant material and structural design decreases the chances of a product being accidentally or purposefully opened. Complying with government regulations is easier with shrink sleeves because the graphics and text can be easily changed out while allowing the containers to be reused for the new shrink sleeve. 

Household Cleaning Products –Detergents, soaps and cleaning agents can benefit from shrink sleeve labels because its material can withstand moisture, friction and varying temperatures. In most cases,household cleaning products using shrink sleeves will look as new as the day they were bought regardless of how many times the product has or will be used.