As the TLM Comfort Feeder was presented at this year’s edition of interpack for the first time, Schubert announced the development of a new, compact solution to automate the infeed of carton blanks to the packaging machine. The idea is a slim, high-performance machine operating in the smallest possible space to save producers money and reduce the workload of operators.
The TLM Comfort Feeder is entirely automated and integrated into a single machine. It can be easily connected to the downstream packaging process, via Transmodul, belt or vacuum conveyor depending on the requirements of the operator.
With single-lane processing of each carton blank, the performance of the machine-integrated robots is used so that a cycle rate of 60 packs per minute can be achieved.
For feeding, the pallet with all the blank sheets is placed into the machine. The blanks are pre-cut and only connected at a few, predetermined breaking points to form a sheet. For removal, a spacer then fixes the cardboard sheet in place while an F4 robot pulls each blank directly from the sheet one by one and deposits it into a vertical magazine.
During this process, the pallet is gradually lifted until it reaches the last sheets. A camera also monitors the corner of each top sheet so that the robot can accurately access each blank.
In the new A6 erector, each blank is pulled individually from the bottom of the buffer and transferred to a pusher that transports it past the gluing unit to a folding box. There, a punch sucks up the blank, pushes it through the folding box for erecting and places it onto the transport system. The unit achieves a high output of 60 blanks per minute in spite of its streamlined single-lane design. It can also be used in Schubert machines without infeed from the pallet, but with a vertical magazine.
The combination of an all-new sheet infeed, high erecting capacity and loading and sealing in a small space offers Schubert customers an advantageous machine for the bar packer, the company said. The machine’s performance in the smallest space saves space in production.
The new infeed makes operation extremely simple and the lightweight, small robotic tools can be easily handled by one person. Until a pallet is emptied, the machine can work for four to five hours without refilling. When a full pallet is exchanged, the buffer takes over the feeding, so that a machine stop is not required. The prepared blank sheets save weight during transport and also enable the packaging to be optimised to material-efficient formats.
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Caitlin Gittins
Editor, International Confectionery
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