CAPS & CLOSURES | INNOVATION
Demag, Waldorf Technik and Roth Werkzeugbau has provided a fully automated in-mould labelling (IML) production line that is repeatedly manufactur- ing, stacking and wrapping more than 7,500 easy open, fully decorated rigid wipe lids per hour for UK injection moulder Amaray. The push button lids are designed for a major blue chip personal care client. The installation includes Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s ultra-high speed 580-tonne El-Exis SP, fitted with a multi-cavity 12+12 stack mould. An integrated high speed IML Waldorf Technik robot places each label into the mould, and then re- moves and closes each of the 24-hinged lids as soon as they are extracted from the mould. This has to be done swiftly while the polypropylene is still malleable. The lids are then placed on the convey- or where they are each quality checked by a camera. A robot then stacks 38 lids, passing to a binder, at which point nine stacks are fed into an automated wrapper to create a brick of 342 lids for loading onto a pallet. Amaray undertook extensive market research
with parents and carers to determine how they could structurally improve upon the rigid pop-up lid concept for wipes. Users emphasised the dexterity challenges they face when changing and cleaning a wriggling child. Other requirements included a secure lid that stopped wipes from drying out to save on waste, yet could be opened and closed with one finger. To maximise post-consumer recycling efforts, Amaray made the decision to use virgin polypropylene to allow the entire component - lid and label - to be recycled after use. In order to deliver the design, the lid needed to be moulded as a single component and decorated and assembled in a seamless process. From an injection moulding perspective, using a 12 + 12 stack mould (although more productive) presented a tooling and processing challenge. In order to create the flip-like hinge, the tooling needed to accommodate varying depths of raw material.
Left: Amaray’s packaging line comprises a 12 + 12 stack mould, producing 7,500 fully decorated rigid wipe lids per hour for a leading blue chip personal care customer
Unlike a single face tool, the polymer is injected in the centre between the two plates and has to be evenly distributed in all 24 cavities. Additionally, using a two-face 12 + 12 stack mould in conjunc- tion with the IML system means that 24 cavities are opening at the same time, with a Waldorf Technik side-entry robot placing labels accurately within fractions of a second. Typically, packaging moulders use a single face mould with a maximum of twelve cavities when integrating an IML system, so Amaray’s installation doubled the complexity. In order to insert labels on both tool faces required a much larger robotic system, adds Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. The Waldorf side-entry robot serves two purposes. As well as
Trust Nordson to help you produce barrier film with superior protection capabilities.
Our EDI® dies and feedblocks allow processors to
achieve the optimal layer to layer uniformity required to ensure end product protection from moisture, oxygen, gasses, and other harmful agents.
Polymer Processing Solutions. Every day. Everywhere. Hall 1,
WWW.NORDSONPOLYMERPROCESSING.COM Booth E91
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54
