End of line packing
Click here to subscribe
Krones
You’ve sourced your water, worked with a designer and PET expert to create the perfect bottle, selected just the right closure and applied a label that completes your brand message. You’ve tested everything, put the whole package together and now you’re at the end of the bottling line. So what next? Water Innovation takes a look at the end of the bottling line.
Today the options for delivering bottles to retailers and other outlets seem endless. In-store, the demands of promotions and multi-packs have coincided with the need to use less material and make every square millimetre of every part of the packaging work hard for the brand. From still popular case erectors and sealers and cartoners, shink-wrap seems the most essential move for many. Sometimes known charmingly in the US as ‘bundlers’, shrink-wrapping provides the opportunity to sell in bulk and add promotional information while at the same time using less packaging material.
NEWS Packing lightweight glass with a soft touch
R
esponding to the challenge of gently packing lightweight glass bottles, Standard-Knapp has introduced the Versatron case packer with Soft Catch technology, designed for high-speed packing of fragile containers.
Krones
There is no room here to look at conveyors, coding and labelling or even at the increasing use of robots that can pack 24-7 without ever taking a break. All these subjects will be covered in future issues of Water Innovation.
Water Innovation will look at palletising and robotics in more detail in a future issue
Unlike many traditional case packers which simply drop containers into their respective packaging, the Versatron case packer gently catches each container to ensure that each package is filled without damage. This unique feature allows for maximum productivity and a reduction in machine downtime while dramatically reducing breakage. A two-axis servo system allows the Versatron to
Sandard Knapp
With gentler handling, less material can be used to make the whole bottle. The ‘Soft Catch’ feature allows users to reduce the shock energy by 80% over a conventional drop packer. Taking 80% of the shock energy away enables the use of thinner gauge bottles as well as thinner glass. actually catch the product as it descends into the case. The lift table moves the case to the ‘up’ position and waits for a full grid. When the grid is full, the riding strips shift to the side and initiate the bottle descent. The lift table simultaneously moves the case downward on a velocity curve that ultimately achieves the same speed at the point of contact in a similar way one would catch an egg, by cradling it gently and securely.
© Water Innovation 2011. Reproduced with the kind permission of FoodBev Media - www.foodbev.com For details about syndication and licensing please contact the marketing team on 01225 327890.
20 INSIGHT
www.foodbev.com/water Issue 64 - January · February 2011