One or two biscuit rolls are packed into flowpacks at a film speed of 60 m/min.


and so when it needed new flow-wrapping equipment for its chocolate-coated biscuit rolls, which are produced in various sizes, it once again turned to Schubert, with a request that quality control be prioritised to ensure that only biscuit rolls with an intact chocolate coating are packaged. The solution was found with a flowpacking machine from Schubert’s lightline series. Adnan Akman, Sales Account Manager at Schubert, explained the benefits: “The lightline system consists of preconfigured machines which helps enable rapid delivery times as well as quick planning and assembly processes.” Cemal Karakuş, Technical Manager at Sölen, confirms this point: “Schubert was able to install and commission the flowpacker at our site within two weeks.”


The lightline machine series is able to offer such fast delivery and set-up times thanks to its preconfigured layouts and the use of proven top-loading machine (TLM) system components.


Flexible robot technology With the new system, Sölen is also able to capitalise on state-of-the-art robot technology. The lightline series also incorporates flexible robot technology and is able to process sustainable packaging ranging from cardboard trays to paper-based flowpacks. Durable components and the option to retrofit new products and formats into the system make it a secure investment, according to Schubert.


“The feature of all our Flowpackers is their space-saving machine layout, in which the pick & place infeed and


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The machine can switch between single and double pick, so that two biscuit rolls can be placed into the chain at the same time.


the flow-wrapping unit are compactly integrated into a single line,” points out Adnan. “The pre-grouping of the products for the Flowmodul is performed either by F4 – four-axis pick-and-place robots – as is the case at Sölen, or by robots from our T-Line of Delta-inspired robots.” 3D-printed format parts developed by Schubert ensure precise gripping and gentle product handling. Vision systems are also employed as part of the lightline solution to detect the position, orientation and quality of the products and ensure that the robots only pick up flawless goods. With six F4 robots, three scanners and the Schubert Flowmodul, Sölen’s


The new flow packing solution is currently used to pack one or two biscuit rolls of varying thicknesses and lengths into flowpacks – with the machine achieving an output of 300 flowpacks per minute for both types of packaging."


lightline Flowpacker enables a consistently controlled and gentle packaging process in a single system. At the Sölen site the new flow packing solution is currently used to pack one or two biscuit rolls of varying thicknesses and lengths into flowpacks – with the machine achieving an output of 300 flowpacks per minute for both types of packaging. The chocolate-coated and partially decorated biscuit rolls enter the system via a 1,000mm wide product conveyor, are checked by the vision system and. As long as the product quality is good, they are then placed into the carrier chain by the robots. The pick & place process can be carried out both as a single pick and as a double pick, in which the robot picks up two products one after the other before placing them into the chain at the same time. This enables the performance of the pick & place process to be adapted to the specific format – and the output of 300 flowpacks per minute is maintained even with 600 packaged biscuit rolls. At a film speed of 60 m/min, the pre-grouped biscuit rolls are then packed into flowpacks and fed into an existing cartoner. Changeover times from one product to another are said by Sölen to be achievable in around 20 minutes. An integrated automatic carrier change independently exchanges the carriers in the chain, while the machine operator can change the dies of the F4 robots and the forming shoulders in the Flowmodul via plug & play. Sölen is pleased with its new flow wrapping solution and is now planning a new format, for the future – which will see four biscuit rolls per flowpack.


Kennedy’s Confection March 2024 33


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