BARCODING, LABELLING & PACKAGING FEATURE Automating the packing line


Pacepacker Services recently demonstrated to customers a 25m2 packing line featuring the latest sack, box and crate handling technology


bulk solids automated


placed in the sack with minimal product contact parts and operator intervention. It features a data-logging facility, self- optimisation and adjustable weight tolerances and operates as a net weigher with automatic zeroing of the bag. Lock Inspection’s Insight Vertical Fall


metal detector was part of the line inspecting for pieces of stray metal that could have been packed in to the sack. With leading detection performance to magnetic and non-magnetic metals it features throughput of up to 50 tonnes per hour, quick release reject devices and Direct Digital Signal vector diagram for optimum set-up. Festo supplied the gripper technology


used on the robot. “Pneumatic fingers are used to secure


P


acepacker Services’ demonstration line integrated equipment from Festo,


FANUC, Tascol Shore, Aetna and Lock Inspection. More than 50 customers were able to see how the systems can bring greater efficiency to their packing facilities. “Using the latest packing technology


can improve a manufacturer’s competitive edge,” says managing director Dennis Allison. “It helps them to improve product quality, reduce waste and increase their throughput.” Having acquired part of Aggregate


Industries’ bagging business which uses Pacepacker equipment the Day Group is looking at an equipment repair and replacement programme. “We are preparing to invest in new


aggregate bagging equipment and production rates are of key importance to our specification,” comments project manager Michael Woodward. He expects his plant to be automated in a similar way to the demonstration line. The line at Pacepacker was designed for


a global chemical company featuring pneumatics technology and weighing, inspection, bagging, palletising and stretch wrapping equipment. Visitors were able to learn how each


technology partner and piece of equipment worked together. "We have always found Pacepacker to


listen to our needs and produce cost effect manufacturing solutions,” says Alan Cave, director at G.R.Wright & Sons flour


millers - a customer for around 20 years. “Plant automation needs are mainly looking toward end of line solutions and palletising; a dust-free, easy to clean environment is a key factor." Central to the line was Pacepacker’s


Total Bag Control (TBC) system which guides a bag throughout the filling and closing process. Designed to handle paper, plastic, woven polypropylene, hessian and nets, it can be used for agricultural produce, food and animal feed. “The most important principle of the TBC system is that it never lets go of the sack after it has been filled which ensures that a good quality reliable seal is obtained every time even on irregular shaped and sized products like potatoes,” explains business development manager Paul Wilkinson.


HEIGHTENED PRODUCTIVITY FANUC Robotics UK which has been a Pacepacker strategic partner for palletising projects since 1999 showcased its new generation palletiser robot. The M410-iC/185 features a 185kg payload coupled with an average speed of 1700 cycles per hour resulting in heightened productivity and more efficient palletising of heavier loads. “It can handle anything from bags,


sacks, cartons, shrink-wrapped trays and crates to cans, barrels and bricks,” says technical manager Darren Whittall. Tascol Shore supplied a weighing system to handle product as it was


/FACTORYEQUIPMENT Pacepacker’s 25m2 bulk


packing line incorporates the latest Festo, Aetna and FANUC technology


the products during operation to help keep costs down,” says business development consultant Colin Harris. “This represents a good example of the technology knowledge from Festo and the application experience of Pacepacker to produce a dedicated solution which met the customer’s needs.


PALLET STRETCH WRAPPING An automatic pallet stretch wrapping system was provided by Aetna Group. Placed at the end of the bagging line, the Rotoplat 3000HD incorporates a top sheet dispenser for dust or waterproof wrap and is capable of receiving pallets from two lines. “Its small footprint makes it ideal for this type of low throughput application,” says technical sales manager Roger Cope. Pacepacker’s Try Before You Buy


scheme allows customers to run product trials on their systems to de-risk the procurement process and instill customer confidence before placing an order. FH Nash has been using Pacepacker


equipment for several years: "We bought one of their first F1 palletisers, part of two packing lines with robots,” explains operations director Joe Venner. “We look for greater throughput but it is also important knowing that we are going to get the support that we need.” Pacepacker plans a second open day in


June to demonstrate its pick and place robot handling and assembly technology.


Pacepacker Services T: 01371 811544 www.pacepacker.com


Enter 315 FACTORY EQUIPMENT | APRIL 2014 25


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