PACKAGING
“When it came to tendering and specifying the type of pouch needed, we put forward a couple of technologies for consideration, one being our soft pouch and the other being a hard pouch. The hard pouch has a wire frame which allows it to be opened automatically by our newly developed auto-unloading technology. We had various options for unloading and a gentle unloader was ultimately selected. This would prove critical.”
The challenge was, how to present a wide the right order and orientation to Sparck’s CVP Everest? It was a complex issue. As it happens, Sparck Technologies’ development team was in the process of looking at ways of auto-infeeding items, as singles and possibly multiple units, into their automated boxing machines to remove the need for manual intervention. The CVP machines had always required manual induction of order-items for an otherwise completely automated process of 3D scan, cut-to-size, fold, seal and label and then on to despatch. “We immediately knew we could provide a solution as we were already working on a more holistic approach to the problem, with agnostic, scalable and modular solutions,” said Jo Bradley, business development manager for Sparck Technologies in the UK.
SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION Chris More said,“We understood exactly what was needed, so we entered into close collaboration with Sparck to set out how the two systems would exchange information, creating
a tight integration between upstream and downstream processes, with reliable hand-over and acknowledgement of product and order information.”
Meanwhile, Sparck carried out further work related to ensuring a smooth and consistent induction of a variety of sized items to the CVP Everest. A clever ‘Z’ shaped conveyor section for 3D scanning and processing, providing a well matched, consistent pace sequenced with the upstream Ferag sorter.
COUNTING THE BENEFITS After thorough testing in late summer 2023, the ‘one touch’ solution went live. The performance of the system has exceeded the retailer’s expectations, with accurate, consistent and reliable delivery of ‘right-sized’ boxes to despatch, maximising the full potential throughput of the system and standing as testament to the successful collaboration between Ferag and Sparck.
Jo Bradley says,“Automating the interface has been a ‘Holy Grail’ for the sector for a
number of years. Creating a smooth, seamless process free from human intervention has not been easy, given the complexity of the task, but now we have developed technology that aligns and positions individual items for induction into our CVP machines with great speed and accuracy. We are delighted to have worked with With no need for direct human intervention between upstream order-picking processes and the fast, automatic production of ‘right-size’ ecommerce boxes, exposure to risks, such as reduced. Flexibility to ramp up easily for peaks is an added bonus.
This innovative step takes out cost, increases throughput and offers the retail client the at peak.
For more information: https://www.ferag. com/en/ and
https://sparcktechnologies.com
Sparck Technologies
www.sparcktechnologies.com FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS | DECEMBER/JANUARY 2024/25 35
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