Ishida Europe has introduced a new tray sealer, the QX-800, with the latest innovation looking to tackle performance and efficiency challenges for tray sealing applications.
Specifically developed for high-volume production lines and increased throughput, the Ishida QX-800 tray sealer puts efficiency, smart intelligence and sustainability at the core of its compact design. The machine offers a variety of high-quality sealing options at high speeds and consistency, including seal only, gas flushing, stretch film and skinpack applications.
The high throughput is made possible by the QX-800’s efficient servo-motor technology, enabling more impressions and cycles, with up to 25 cycles per minute for seal only, and 17 MAP cycles per minute for Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). This means manufacturers can seal up to 175 trays per minute with a 7-impression tool.
Beyond better throughput and integrity, the QX-800 offers improved energy efficiency, and a 50% reduction in power consumption compared with its previous QX Flex range.
The QX-800 operates without a water chiller or compressed air, allowing manufacturers to save further on utility and maintenance costs.
To minimise food waste, Ishida has developed a new patented tray transfer system. The technology allows for smooth tray and product handling, ensuring spillage-free transfer, even for difficult-to-handle products such as soup.
To cater for fast product changeovers, the QX-800 also features Ishida’s innovative cassette-based tooling design. At less than 70kg on average, the tool can be comfortably lifted by two operators using Ishida’s compact tool handling trolley. Tool changeovers can be completed in well under 10 minutes, thus significantly reducing scheduled downtime.
“We have four all-important criteria when developing new packaging machinery for the food industry,” said Tara O’Connor, Ishida Europe’s Product Manager for tray sealers. “The machine must be smart, compact, efficient and provide clear sustainability benefits for the customer. We’re proud to say that the QX-800 hits the mark on all four.
“Our latest tray sealer maximises throughput while maintaining high product and pack quality across various tray designs and materials, including plastic, board, aluminium and fibre tray formats. In a highly competitive food market, achieving these goals is crucial as it means more efficient production while not compromising food safety and pack presentation.”
As manufacturers seek to fully automate more packing lines, space considerations have been factored during the development of the QX-800. Its drop-down door design means it can be opened for maintenance and tooling adjustments without requiring an increased footprint for access. Meanwhile, tool storage has been similarly downsized, helping to free up floor space.
To provide smarter insights for food manufacturers, the QX-800 comes pre-installed with Sentinel 5.0, Ishida’s ground-breaking, AI-driven software, which combines machine performance monitoring with comprehensive data capture that can provide an in-depth analysis of entire food production lines. It connects with the machine to ‘learn’ how it is operating and offers data-driven performance improvement notifications to further boost productivity.
Additionally, the QX-800’s user interface has been designed to be as intuitive as possible, with easy access to operator guides, relevant performance data and engineer-level information that can help provide substantial productivity enhancements. Presets for existing tooling configurations can be saved and copied to allow for quicker tool changeovers.
Tara concluded: “Food production is all about speed and being able to package as many products as possible to a high quality, with excellent seal quality and consistency. The QX-800 has been developed with this in mind, minimising downtime and maximising performance, all within a compact footprint.
“With increasing cost pressures on the supply chain, efficient machines like the QX-800 are invaluable to reducing energy costs on the factory floor while supporting the shift towards sustainable packaging designs and materials. We’re highly confident that the food industry will respond positively to the launch of the QX-800, and we look forward to introducing this exciting new machine to both new and existing customers.”
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Editor, International Confectionery
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