Company insight
Through a combination of high-quality machines, technical expertise and committed team members and project managers, MULTIVAC’s efficient production line is able to to pack up to 600 test swabs per minute.
cables and other lines are fed through closed ducts. This applies to all four stations of the thermoforming packaging machine: forming station, loading area, sealing die and cutting area. This ensures that the test swabs are packaged hygienically in their 25x190 mm packs – in compliance with the ISO and FDA requirements.
As the first stage, the forming station of the R 535 makes the lower web formable through the effect of heat. By using compressed air and vacuum, the subsequent thermoforming operation produces 40 pack cavities per cycle at the same time.
The line packs up to 600 test swabs per minute
But the line can do more than just pack. In order to provide a system solution from one source, MULTIVAC augmented the thermoforming packaging machine with equipment from partner companies and third-party suppliers. An InteliJet HD digital printer from US manufacturer Bell-Mark is integrated into the line, and this prints variable data on the top web of the packages. An inspection system from MULTIVAC Marking and Inspection subsequently checks the print for correctness.
“The biggest challenge for us in the future is now to adapt to the changing markets. We will continue to rely on MULTIVAC, when it comes to retrofitting the lines if pack requirements change.”
As the next stage in the process, the pack cavities are automatically loaded with the swabs in the loading area: a pick and place robot with a suction gripper picks up 40 corona test swabs simultaneously from an infeed conveyor and places them in the pack cavities. The pack cavities loaded with product are then advanced into the sealing station. The lower web is sealed to a medical paper in the sealing die, which uses high temperature and pressure. The last station on the thermoforming packaging machine is the cutting area, where the 40 packs containing the corona test swabs are first separated into two individual rows of 20 packs by means of cross cutting units. As the second step of the cutting process, the packs are inter alia perforated longitudinally so that the individual packs can easily be torn apart, resulting in four individual rows of ten packs.
At the end of the line there is a
MULTIVAC H 130 pick and place handling module, which then takes the 40 packs of corona test swabs from the discharge conveyor of the thermoforming packaging machine, before placing them into a box in 25 layers: the boxes are automatically erected by a case loader and then sealed with adhesive tape after loading.
A palletising unit then stacks the boxes, each with 1,000 test swabs, on top of each other. “The line requires just four seconds for a machine cycle with 40 test swabs. This means that it is possible to pack 600 test swabs per minute,” says Dr Thomas Kafka, product manager, medical and consumer solutions at MULTIVAC. “The machine concept creates a very lean manufacturing process with an extremely small amount of packaging waste,” adds Templet. “We are currently
Medical Device Developments /
www.nsmedicaldevices.com
producing the highest quality packs in the history of the company.”
All the lines are operating on a double- shift basis of ten hours each for four days per week. By adjusting the shift times, the output quantity can be increased very flexibly. This enables up to 300 million test swabs per month to be packed.
Very fast and from one source One reason why MULTIVAC was able to deliver the lines so rapidly was the company’s expertise in the line business. “Our project managers, who have many years of experience, are able to combine the perfectly honed technology of several manufacturers into one individual line, which guarantees a high degree of automation and product safety as well as process reliability, so that ultimately patient safety can be assured,” says Kafka. The company’s project managers work closely with customers in a very trusting relationship at every phase of the project. From the decision-making process, where they visualise ideas with product simulations and virtual 3D models, right through to the machine installation and process validation in accordance with the requirements of ISO 11607, ISO 134 and FDA CFR 21. “MULTIVAC’s Validation Department was able to create all the compliance documents at the right time and remove the pressure from our team,” says Templet. Another huge benefit in terms of time was the fact that the experts from MULTIVAC provided training to the PURITAN technicians on handling the machines. “The biggest challenge for us in the future is now to adapt to the changing markets. We will continue to rely on MULTIVAC, when it comes to retrofitting the lines if pack requirements change.” ●
www.multivac.com 115
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 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
