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Oct 19, 2024

Innovative New Machinery at PACK EXPO: Form/Fill/Seal Equipment | Packaging World

PMG editors fanned out across PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2023 in search of packaging innovation. Here's what they found in Form/Fill/Seal Equipment. Form/Fill/Seal Equipment wasn't the only area of interest

PMG editors fanned out across PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2023 in search of packaging innovation. Here's what they found in Form/Fill/Seal Equipment.

Form/Fill/Seal Equipment wasn't the only area of interest at PACK EXPO. Click the links that follow to read more about innovations in: Cartoning | Case and Tray Packing | Coding and Marking | Conveyors and Material Handling | Inspection and Detection | Labeling | Food Processing & Packaging | Sustainable Packaging | Robotics | Pharma | Controls

Automatic splicing of roll-fed material on vertical form/fill/seal equipment was featured at several PACK EXPO booths, including TNA Solutions.

Like so many other exhibitors at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, the folks at TNA are keenly aware of how customers across the board are challenged by the ongoing labor shortage. So they came up with an automated splicing feature for their Robag vertical form/fill/seal system that they unveiled at PACK EXPO.

“Autosplice allows the Robag to continue to operate and automatically switch from the used roll to a new roll of film in less than 30 seconds,” says TNA’s Steven Johnson. “It saves approximately four to six minutes per roll change.” Johnson also notes that the autosplice feature can be retrofit onto existing Robag systems already operating in the field.

Form/Fill/Seal Equipment wasn't the only area of interest at PACK EXPO. Click the links that follow to read more about innovations in: Cartoning | Case and Tray Packing | Coding and Marking | Conveyors and Material Handling | Inspection and Detection | Labeling | Food Processing & Packaging | Sustainable Packaging | Robotics | Pharma | Controls

Automatic splicing of roll-fed material on vertical form/fill/seal equipment was featured at several PACK EXPO booths, including TNA Solutions.

Like so many other exhibitors at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, the folks at TNA are keenly aware of how customers across the board are challenged by the ongoing labor shortage. So they came up with an automated splicing feature for their Robag vertical form/fill/seal system that they unveiled at PACK EXPO.

“Autosplice allows the Robag to continue to operate and automatically switch from the used roll to a new roll of film in less than 30 seconds,” says TNA’s Steven Johnson. “It saves approximately four to six minutes per roll change.” Johnson also notes that the autosplice feature can be retrofit onto existing Robag systems already operating in the field.

The Robag’s control system integrates all of the bagging functionality (bagger, combination scale, date coder, autosplice) into a single user interface. An encoder on the spindle holding the roll of film in use tracks spindle rotation and signals when the roll reaches its end. As the depleted roll of film separates from its core, the controller slows everything down and begins the autosplice sequence. The splice is then made without the need for knives or a vacuum thanks to a unique, patented reverse rolling mechanism. The bagmaker continues to produce until the splice is detected. Then the Robag jogs a double bag, which is rejected on the bagmaker outfeed, and the bagmaker resumes production. The empty spindle is then rotated to the rear of the machine for easy loading of the new roll. The leading edge of the film is taped to the splice roller to prepare the next splice.

The Robag now has two rolls of film to run before an operator needs to reload, which reduces stress on the operator leading to an easier work environment and higher productivity.

Watch a PACK EXPO video of the autosplice feature being demonstrated.

In an era when sustainability has become a key focus for brands and CPGs, the Delta Open Frame 360 X from IMA Ilapak, a flexible flow-wrapper produced in Switzerland, lowers environmental impact via reduced energy usage and, more importantly, efficient use of materials. Those materials include new substrates like barrier paper material or monomaterial PE films, two materials that CPGs are increasingly turning to, forcing OEMs to build equipment that can handle them.

The unit integrates both a “no plastic program” and a “low impact program,” both of which being key drivers for IMA in coming years according to Nick Knasiak, project manager at Ilapak Packaging. The no plastic program is aimed at end users who seek to minimize the use of plastics in packaging. To achieve this, the Delta Open Frame 360 X has been equipped to transition from a monomaterial PE film to a much thinner paper material in an automated splice. This shift does not require major adjustments; only the recipe change in the HMI itself is needed. Once changeover from one material to another is initiated by an operator via the HMI, this splice transition is achieved through film carriage movement and an original cold roller position adjustment to effectively process and machine various materials.

“As product is entering into the machine, we have sensors that are phasing the product appropriately to be processed,” Knasiak says.

Ensuring that the product is precisely positioned within the machine is a vital step. This meticulous alignment of products ensures that no empty bags are produced, leading to a decrease in overall waste. Once the product finds its exact location, the machine resumes its operation, sealing it within either a mono PE film or the new paper material, both of which are recyclable. The latter pack format is trim sealed with a gusset, and is sealed with ultrasonic sealing at the back, further minimizing potential waste.

Perhaps the most notable of the machine's standout features is the auto-splice function. This allows for a seamless transition between a plastic film on one side, and a thin paper material on the other. In situations where a film is reaching its end, the machine's sensors detect this change, and it splices to the new film automatically. Such automatic changeovers were traditionally time-consuming processes that could take upwards of 30 minutes. But with the Delta Open Frame 360 X, this becomes a matter of merely pressing a button. The ease of this transition offers the potential to enhance productivity for many businesses.

Handling different materials, especially thin paper materials, often comes with challenges. Even mono PE is less robust than typical multilayer films, so such materials can easily tear, break, or puncture. Recognizing this, the machine allows the film carriage to move into an optimal position for handling these materials. A smooth, gentle angle is maintained to ensure the fragile material remains intact. Simultaneously, the front cold roller is adjusted to a position that further supports this gentle handling.

The second major machine feature, its low impact program, revolves around reduction in energy use. This is most evident in its transition from relying on pneumatic cylinders to electronic motors for various machine functions. By replacing pneumatics, not only is the machine's air consumption significantly reduced, but it also translates into a potential energy savings for the user of up to 20%. Functions such as the electronic jaw head, electronic gussetting, and electronic tamper are now executed using these energy-efficient electronic motors.

See a video of the Delta Open Frame 360 X in action, automatically splicing between recyclable monomaterial PE film and barrier paper material.

Vf/f/s technology can also be used for liquid products, and a good example was shown at the booth of Matrix Packaging. The firm highlighted its new MVC-300 L (liquid) bagger, the company’s first foray into liquid pumps, aimed at improving the consistency and control of product flow into packages.

To anyone familiar with Matrix's machinery range, it would be evident that many of the technological components within the NBC 300 L bagger find parallels in their existing equipment. However, as Eric Zellmer, the sales manager of channel partnerships at Matrix Packaging, pointed out during PACK EXPO, there are a couple of distinctive features worth noting.

At the heart of the NBC 300 L bagger is a continuously operating pump. Its primary role is to ensure a steady movement of the product, with an emphasis on controlling the flow as it enters the bag. This design choice is expected to be particularly beneficial in scenarios where precise volume and consistency are paramount. As with any packaging solution, the challenge is often to strike a balance between speed and precision, and this pump appears to offer an effective solution.

Zellmer also shed light on another intriguing aspect of the bagger – the squeegee rollers. These rollers are designed to converge during the packaging process, controlling the product volume within. Beyond this, they play an essential role in removing air from the package. The elimination of air is a critical aspect of packaging, especially when dealing with products that have a higher susceptibility to spoilage due to trapped air.

So, who stands to benefit the most from this new addition to Matrix Packaging's lineup? Zellmer mentioned, “customers that are doing sauces, dressings, things like salsa, anything like that. This could be a great solution for you.” These products often pose packaging problems due to their consistency or viscosity, plus the need for precision can sometimes pose issues. Given the design features of the MCV 300 L bagger, it seems well-suited for such applications.

Watch a video of the new vertical bagger for liquids in action.

Paxiom GroupA brand new compact vf/f/s machine called Versa Pak was introduced at the Paxiom Group booth during PACK EXPO Las Vegas. “This is the most compact vertical bagging machine on the market today,” says Paxiom Group vice president Nicholas Taraborelli. “The machine stands just 3 feet tall, is 3 feet deep, and is about 3 feet wide. It produces up to 1,200 bags per hour.”

A key goal behind the design and development of the machine was to avoid proprietary things like forming tubes or the need to purchase proprietary packaging materials. Roll-fed film fed into the all-stainless-steel machine can come from anybody, says Taraborelli. Pouches can range from two to eight in. wide.

“We can put an automatic weigh-filling machine or auger filler above it or it can be just hand-loaded,” says Taraborelli. “What customers love is you can just take it out of the crate and put it on a tabletop and you are automated.”

The price point at PACK EXPO was $19,900. And Taraborelli emphasizes that only the highest quality components go into the machine, including Omron PLCs and SMC pneumatics.

Watch a PACK EXPO video of the compact new machine being demonstrated.

Unified Flex Packaging TechnologiesUnified Flex Packaging Technologies focused on easy-to-maintain vertical baggers that offer efficiencies and format flexibility for brands. Showcased at the booth was their MSB 406, a multilane sachet bagger designed to support 406-mm web widths. This versatile, automatic vertical form/fill/seal machine features a clean, robust design. Accommodating 2 to 4 lanes of sachets of various sizes, it is suitable for a wide range of products such as powders, liquids, and granular products.

Ease of maintenance was a driving factor in engineering this machine, says Rob Bridel, artistic director at Unified Flex. “One of the main benefits of our systems is that the parts inside are off-the-shelf, which makes maintenance a breeze and operation a lot easier.”

Unified Flex also highlighted versatile solutions to packaging formats with the Hornet vertical bagger. “This system can be configured for three different bag styles: the pillow bag, the pillow bag with side gussets, and in this case, a block bottom,” says Bridel.

Bridel said Hornet bagger runs with both poly films and mono films, catering to a wide spectrum of needs to brands in the age of sustainability.

See a tour of Unified Flex’s bagging systems.

SyntegonSyntegon used PACK EXPO Las Vegas to unveil in the U.S. its newest vf/f/s bagger solution: the SVX series 51. Two of the machines were on display—the SVX Agile and the SVX Duplex. The SVX Agile is designed for high-speed production of 300 bags/min with one film lane and can handle the full bag range of any vf/f/s bagging requirements. The Agile's patent-pending cross-seal control allows for custom and accurate sealing pressure. Meanwhile, its SVX Duplex counterpart can produce 600 bags/min—due to two accessible film lanes—while still maintaining a compact footprint for seamless integration into existing production lines. The company adds that the platform is user-friendly, allowing for easy and quick changeovers and adjustments.

PW editors spoke to Jason D’Arcy, product group sales manager, vertical - North America, at Syntegon at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, where he had this to say.

“There are several features that make the SVX different from everything else out there, but first and foremost among them is our innovative new cross-seal drive system,” he said. “All the moving parts of our machine are contained within what we’ve called our front cylinder. The fact that all of the moving parts are contained within this front cylinder allows us to only have to guard the front end of the machine. That means that on the back end of the machine, operators have full access to the film path, to film reel loading and splicing, to code/date printers, and other elements without having to deal with guarding.”

D'Arcy added that the SVX series is ideal for snack, baked, fresh and frozen, and powdered products, really “anything dry and free flowing, and we also have higher hygiene versions that are ideal for washdown applications.”

Watch a video of the new SVX vf/f/s bagger system in action.

Most likely overlooked by passersby to the All-Fill booth, but an improvement that the company has been working on for the last year that has been shown to improve rotary auger filling speeds for free-flow products from 10% to 20%, is its custom Eccentric Funnel Design process.

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, All-Fill was showing one of its new funnel designs on a high-speed auger filling line, “but it’s one of those things that I feel goes unnoticed because you don’t often think about how a funnel can be better until it’s a problem,” shares Chad Martin, Engineering Manager for All-Fill.

According Martin, one persistent issue with free-flowing products has been their tendency to bridge, or basically clog, an auger filler funnel due to the way the product is nested or if it becomes a mass that can’t fit through the funnel’s hole. Says Martin, “Whenever customers run something like a whole peppercorn or rolled oats through one of our funnels on a rotary auger filler at high speeds, if they get bridging, they have to stop the process entirely or slow the system down so that there aren’t any issues.”

To resolve this challenge, All-Fill has been leveraging additive, or 3D, printing technology to explore different funnel designs that optimize flows, thereby increasing the speed and efficiency of its machines. Traditionally funnel designs comprise a cone that filters down to a straight pipe at the bottom. With its Eccentric Funnel Design, the company has been able to design new funnels customized to specific products with a pipe that is offset from the cone in an engineering and production process that takes hours, rather than days.

The process to design a new funnel involves fine-tuning the custom Eccentric Funnel Design using rapid 3D prototyping. Once a more-efficient design is achieved, All-Fill manufactures the funnel in its sheet metal shop using food contact-safe stainless steel. While Martin says the company has been designing the funnels on a case-by-case basis, in the process, it has been gathering knowledge on which applications can use the technology. “We want to add it as part of our standard tooling set for products that can benefit from it,” he says.

Sharing an example of a successful retrofit, Martin recalls how All-Fill designed a new funnel for a customer filling ant poison. With the new design, All-Fill was able to increase the filling speed by one cycle per minute.

Spee-Dee Packaging MachineryAlso laser focused on filling was Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery. Their compact rotary filler at an attractive price made its debut at PACK EXPO. The 12-pocket machine measures just 24 in. in diameter and is rated at 40 to 80 bottles/min. According to Spee-Dee vice president of sales Mark Navin, that makes it an especially good fit between in-line indexing systems that run between 20 to 50 bottles/min and high-speed rotary systems that go 100 bottles/min and higher. “And it comes at a lower price point and has a smaller footprint with all the benefits of Spee-Dee’s rotary filler design, including magnetic funnel attachments as well as our servo-driven auger filler,” adds Navin.

Especially innovative in terms of reducing complexity and cost is the way that Spee-Dee’s designers removed the timing screw and infeed starwheel on the infeed as well as the discharge. “We're able to just peel the container off from the conveyor and then deposit it back onto the conveyor at the discharge end,” says Navin.

Cost of the compact rotary system is around $250,000 to $260,000.

Watch a video of the machine at PACK EXPO.

Demonstrated at the show, the new Hayssen Mini vertical form/fill/seal bagger from BW Flexible Systems allows users to run either paper or film, with a changeover time of less than 10 minutes between materials. Explains Dan Irod, Director of Business Development for BW Flexible Systems, the bagger is the fulfillment of a request from one of the company’s customers seven years ago who wanted to switch from paper to plastic for 100% of its bags. “Until that moment, we had never evaluated the possibility of working with paper, so it was a totally new thing for us,” Irod says.Hayssen, BW Flexible Systems

In developing the system, BW Flexible collaborated with materials suppliers to find a paper-based web material that could seal on its equipment. Options include a paper web with a peelable film layer that can be removed, allowing the paper to be recycled or composted, or paper with a thin layer of PE for barrier.

Simultaneous with finding a paper that could be sealed on BW Flexible’s equipment was the development of a machine that could handle the paper. Says Irod, running paper on a vf/f/s machine requires a different film path and unwinding of the material. “You have to control the pulling of the web and also the tension of the packaging materials,” he says.

In engineering the machine to meet new packaging material requirements, however, Irod said he wanted to be sure that if the sustainability winds changed (again) with greater recycling of plastic, that customers would have the choice of running either material. “That was one of the challenges I brought to my team,” he says, “just to always be able to take a step back and retrofit the machine with different tooling that allows for the use of plastic.”

Another notable feature of the machine is its small footprint: The Hayssen Mini is just 1.3 m high, or approximately 4 ft. Shares Irod, sustainability isn’t only about the material being run on the machine, but also a machine’s electrical consumption, the number of air compressors it uses, and its footprint. “As I like to say, the Hayssen Mini will allow a small customer to work even in a garage,” he says. “It’s not going to be a garage definitely, but that’s the concept.”

The Mini also offers in-line printing with water-based inks as an option.

Pneumatic Scale AngelusRight next door to Hayssen and BW Flexible Systems, can filling and seaming was a focus at Pneumatic Scale Angelus (PSA), BW Packaging company. The firm introduced the latest edition to its craft beverage canning line portfolio, the CB100R. The new line marries rotary counter-pressure filling with rotary Angelus seaming in a compact footprint, operating at more than 100 cans/min.

Similar to prior PSA counter-pressure models, the CB100R is engineered for producers interested in canning beer, cider, seltzer, carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), and other beverages at carbonation levels of up to 4.1 vols (8 g/l) CO2. As PSA explains, adding a rotary three-spindle seamer allows for faster speeds and a smooth, continuous-motion transition from filling to seaming, eliminating unnecessary agitation. Cans are purged of oxygen prior to filling, with configurable purge and snift times to control foaming. Under-cover gassing at the turret lid feed and a bubble breaker positioned ahead of the Angelus seamer serve to keep Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels to what PSA says is an industry-leading minimum.

“Our CB100R builds upon the successes of our existing counter-pressure lines, with the added advantages of a full rotary system,” says Mike Davis, PSA’s product line leader for Can Filling. “The combination of a rotary filling turret with rotary seaming means we’re able to increase the number of cans traveling through the system, maintaining best-in-class Angelus seam integrity without creating any increase in product agitation. Ultimately, this allows us to eliminate the unwanted reductions in carbonation levels that are seen with other filling methods.”

Also similar to PSA’s other counter-pressure models, the CB100R employs true isobarometric filling, with a gravity-fed onboard product filler bowl rated to 60 psi/4 bar, where the can being filled and the product going into the can are at equal pressure, maintaining carbonation solubility throughout the filling process. PSA explains that the filler uses precision magnetic flowmeters to ensure filling accuracy, with little to no waste.

“The advantage of the full rotary CB100R design is a smaller footprint than other rotary and linear formats,” explains Adam Brandt, PSA’s vice president of Sales. “The addition of the rotary seamer means we can achieve faster speeds in a more compact design. This is great for brewers who want to increase production without requiring additional space, which is often already at a premium.”

SeracSerac’s new rotary, servo-driven capper, the eMC2, is gaining traction in the home care products industry due to its ability to handle nearly all closing systems, including caps, pumps, and trigger sprayers, with quick changeover and high accuracy.

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Serac Managing Director Nicolas Ricard explained the benefits of the brushless servo motor-driven eMC2. “With fully electric cappers, the rotation as well as the up and down movement are controlled by a motor,” he says. “This allows us to do a simple cap, or a pump, or a trigger on the same capper with limited changeover. With all functionalities being recipe-driven, the eMC2 enables operators to easily control the position of the capping head, ensuring consistent results.”

A primary concern for brand owners is the traceability of their products. Traditional cappers, if they malfunction or don’t cap correctly, often require additional inspection processes to identify issues. In contrast, the eMC2 enables proactive identification of potential capping errors. By setting specific targets for the capping process within the machine, operators can ensure that if the desired number of turns or the correct torque is not achieved, the bottle is rejected, reducing the chances of sub-optimal products reaching consumers. Moreover, the data-driven approach means manufacturers can maintain detailed records of each capping process, allowing for efficient troubleshooting in case of post-production challenges.

As Ricard explained, the transition to electric cappers isn’t solely driven by their operational benefits. Many companies have also begun to recognize the value of minimizing manual interventions, especially where consistency and hygiene are paramount. Manually attaching certain components, like trigger sprays, poses risks such as introducing contaminants or not achieving the desired precision in the capping process. The eMC2 mitigates these risks, assuring products maintain their intended quality.

Serac provides specially designed capping heads for the eMC2 that can be changed easily to adapt to plug-on sprays, lotion pumps, dispensers, caps, and other closing solutions. The system runs at speeds to 400 triggers/min and 560 standard caps/min, with 16 capping heads and can be operated as a standalone unit or in a monobloc filling/capping system.

Check out a video of the machine in action at the Serac PACK EXPO booth.