FEATURE Packaging Machinery 


model incorporates upgrades to the motor control system that allow tape speed to four metres per minute thereby ensuring high throughput. Its compact footprint, measuring just 75cm x 35cm occupies minimal real estate in a factory or packing area, and the system requires only a standard AC supply and compressed air. The system can handle tapes to 88mm wide, and gives users the fl exibility to create pockets in standardised or custom dimensions simply by changing the tooling. The pockets may be simple shapes, such as square, rectangular or rounded, or may be specifi cally shaped to fi t a particular component or provide certain functions such as protecting vulnerable pins or protrusions. Adaptsys can help customers create custom tooling where required, and has successfully developed solutions for various special components such as small electronic modules and electrical connectors.


The system is designed to allow tooling to be designed and produced quickly and cost-eff ectively. Changing the tooling to a diff erent tape design in a production setting requires no special skills and takes just a few minutes, enabling users to produce pocket designs in almost any quantity from low and medium to high volume. In addition, Re-fl ex II provides quality inspection and traceability of each formed pocket. Re-fl ex II can be used with any standard- size input and output reels up to 22” (560mm) in diameter, taking fl at tape


Figure 3: Metal parts in tape


from the input reel and delivering formed pocketed tape to the output reel. It is also possible to create pocketed tape in real time, to be fed directly into a component taping process for packaging large numbers of components. Here is a simple example: The Re-fl ex II supply reel can contain up to 1000 metres of fl at tape. In contrast, the same size reel can carry only about 40 metres of pre-formed carrier tape, assuming a pocket depth of 6mm. If the taping process operates at two metres of parts every minute, the operator needs to change both the supply and output reels every 20 minutes. When feeding the taping process directly from the Re-fl ex II system, the supply reel only needs to be changed once every eight hours – equivalent to once per shift, or less – thereby greatly reducing stoppage times and raising the overall productivity of component taping.


Efficiency-boosting option While Re-fl ex II is intended primarily for feeding pocketed tape directly into a component taper, the new Crosswinder option now enhances owners’ fl exibility to produce tape onto reels to be stored for later use. With the Crosswinder, Re-Flex II gives


extra fl exibility to store more components on a reel by increasing the reel width. Crosswinder neatly winds tape of a standard width, say 12mm, across a 100mm-wide reel to increase the storage capacity by a factor of eight compared to an ordinary 12mm reel. In the end-


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Figure 2: Adaptsys Reflex II packaging machinery


customer’s factory, a crosswound reel can supply signifi cantly more parts to a high- speed component taper before needing to be replaced, thereby reducing changeovers. The Crosswinder ensures the tape is neatly ordered to unwind smoothly, which helps avoid problems that may otherwise require the taper to stop. Crosswound reels are available in various widths to provide high maximum capacity.


A proven solution Tape-and-reel packaging is a proven solution widely used to protect parts such as electronic components during shipping, and present the parts for automated assembly. In fact, the packaging is suited to a wide variety of component types across many industries. The Re-fl ex II off ers a compact and


aff ordable tape-forming solution, capable of operating at high speeds to synchronise with downstream component-taping equipment. Delivering the fl exibility to produce pocketed tape on demand to custom or standard designs and in almost any quantity, the equipment is easily able to repay the initial investment within a year.


CONTACT:


Adaptsys www.adaptsys.com.co.uk https://reflex-odt.com/thank-you-metal/


Automation | July/August 2021


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