PLUS Activity integration in packaging I UV curing technology

Vol 7 No 41 January-February 20121 ~ 100 www.mpdonline. in

Business insights • Technologies • Opportunities

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Challenges in cosmetics packaging Discovering the power of design

Filling, strapping & sealing machines Maximising accuracy, minimising waste

Life cycle analysis 'Flexible' opportunities in packaging

Label ing solutions Creating a lasting impression

In conversation with Yatindra R Sharma, MD, KHS Machinery Pvt Ltd

Inassociation with o Ringier Trade Media lid

INSIGHT & OUTlOOK l

IFilling, Strapping s Sealing Machines FSS machines Maximising accuracy, minimising waste 46

Innovation index

Enabling versatile perform ance 48

Roundtable

H ow is the industry working towa rds maintaining

th e cost-quality ratio of FSS machines? .50

Activity integration in packaging

Unifying operations for better margins 52

UV curing technology Disc over the right light 54

Practical tips Effec tive solutions for brand security 56

Colour management

H armon ising art and aesthe thics .58

INSIGHT & OUTLOOK: Innovat ion index

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Enabling versatileperformance Smartest, fastest and smallest are the buzzwords defining Innovations in the packaging machinery segment, especially filling, sealing and strapping machines. Avani Jain analyses some of the smart ways for reducing the size and enhancing speed & overall efficiency of the machines.

The s 28.6 bill ion world

pa ckaging ma chinery industry will increase 5-6 per cent yearly thro ugh 2014 and

among the variety of packagin g machine s, the next-generation Filling, Sealing and Stra pping mach ines (FSS) will be more in deman d. machin es. "T hese were followed by

machines with stepper motor and Unt il recen tly, the quality of filling and sealing mach ines were the latest technology is machin es

with servo mo to rs, wh ich have not at par with global in dustry standards. In fact, there were several help ed redu ce th e size, was tage issues regard ing size, speed and of film and increase the accuracy accuracy and it was quit e a challenge and speed of the filling & sealing to cater to different requirements machines to a large extent. While in the indus t ry. But, the scenario machines with stepper motor had has changed today with the advent the capaci ty of produc ing upto of new technologies. 200 pouches per minute, the servo

Ni ket M ankad, G eneral machines can produce 350 pouch es Manager, Pace Packaging per minute," avers Pan chal. Machines Pvt Ltd, no tes, "Form, The servo technology offers fill & seal techn ology has changed more th an one advant age to the considerably over the years. T he custom er and has highly improved

most convent ional rigid mechani cal the effi ciency of fill ing and systems with shaft, gears and cams sealing machi nes. Mankad says,

"O ur three- axis servo soluti ons have been repla ced by flexible, elect ron ic sync hro nised drives, with SIMOTION Te chnology which have exte nde d mac hi ne platform instead of nor mal lifecycle and also pr odu ce less Pro gram mable L ogic Controller noise. Further, the in dustry has (PLC) provide a cutting edge to moved towards full y auto ma tic the machines. Benefits offered by form, fill and seal mach ines . O ne of these machines include real sealing the most advanced technologies in time, synchro nised filling, low the segment is continuous motion platform in verti cal foam, fill and seal machines."

Innovative technologies To day with the major focus on redu cing the size and enhancing the speed of the machine , companies have

made many changes in the machines.

New-generat ion filli ng and seali ng machines are ge t ting smaller, with several facilit ies for adjustmen ts. "To make a 50 -gm or 100-gm pouch, you just have to change the part s. Today, the machin es come with several adjustm ents ,

Courtesy: Pac« Packaging Machines Pvt Ltd

and thi s has increased the flexibility of

the customer and reduced the cost of putting two machines for producing different sizes," notes Shailesh Panchal , M anaging D irector, AD Industri es. H e add s, "T he new multi-track mach ines th at produ ce 5-7 pouch es/minute have

resulted in increased speeds and space

reduction. The present machines are 60 per cent smaller than thei r counterpa rts in the past."

On tracking the hi story of filli ng and sealing machines, it is observed that the earlie st machines were mech ani cal

wastag e with sync hronisatio n in

gag pulling, sealing & unwinder sections, on- board sta tus for troublesh oot ing

th rough H um an-Machi ne I nt erface (H M I)ltouch panel. The product qual ity is also imp roved by use of registrat ion mark control, which enhances seal and cut accuracy."

48 Modern Packaging & Design January-February 20 12

H e adds, "Servo axis on the roll of film is used to maintain ten sion in the

process, so tha t the exact amount of film material can be used with min imal waste. T he servo axis feeds the correct length of film into the formed film tube, based on the instructions provided by the operator. If the film is pre -pri nted, a registration sensor adjusts the film pos it ion to ma intai n correct prin t posit ion. " H e fur ther elabo rate s, "As the feed servo

axis pull s the film down, the goods to be packaged are gr avity -fed int o the tub e, often by a precision scale, which ensures th at the proper amount of goods is placed in the pouch in a consistent

manner. Before a product is put into the pouch, the cross jaw servo axis seals the bottom of the pouch. It is then filled and indexed."

C urren tly, when th e customers demand mach ines with higher speed in

terms of bags per minu te coupled with filling solutions tha t match these speeds and offer high accuracy, servo mo tor s are of im mense help. This faci litates

reduction of produc tion cost per bag and maintains margins despite rising input costs in a competitive environm ent.

Further, customers are seeking machines that can produce a wid er

variety of bag styles on the ir machines as well as op tion to pack different products on the same machin e. To meet these

tren ds, machi nes have been designed such that they ensure lowest opera ting cost . "The machin es of today require zero main tenance; these do not need regular lubri cat ion and are easy to clean . Thus, the machines of today are more

user-friendly and have a long working life as compared to their coun terparts in the past," avers Mankad.

A n eq ually import ant t ren d in new-ge ne ration filling and sea ling machines is low film wastage . The present-day machines come with the

capabili ty of operat ing with all types of films available in the Indian market

at any speeds . Further, the machines demonstrate maximum efficiency with

minimum breakage or rejection. "The use of Supervisory Control and D ata

Acquisition System (SCADA) leads to central monitoring of all machines and he lps min imi se wastage and ach ieve

greater accuracy," notes Mankad.

Strapping machines Strapping mach ines have also undergone modifications. Today, there are machines that can be in tegrated in to mo st produ ct ion lines and strap at the ra te of 30 bundles per minute.Strapping mach ines equipped wit h new ul trasoni c sealing heads are not on-ly faster, but also more economical and produce low emissions. Practicall y, these machines pro duce no fum es. St rapping can withs tan d gea r

stress during transpor tation. Besides, it is often possible to use low-cost, narrow or thin-strapped mate rials.

The future Considerable redu ction has been do ne in the size of FSS machines. "Fur ther size reducti on is no t visible in the near fut ure. This is because the filling

process de pends on the volum e of the end product . If the form is large in size, th e machine has to be large likewise . Strapping ma chines also are compressed sufficiently, leavin g only a

slight possibility of reduction in size in the near futu re," avers Panchal.

In a nutshell No vel technology and design innovation s in machi nery wi ll be the change enablers, as th ese have a huge and versatile potential. T he new capabilities in th e next-gen erat ion fi ll ing

and sealing mach ines will ben efit custo mers with better and lon g-term performance levels.

M or eover, speed is paramou nt in today's bu siness cli mate. Innovative

pa cka ging ma chine ry and line co nfiguratio n that are capable of

handling a wide ran ge of pr oduct vari ations are on the hor izon. W ith all

technolo gical advanc ements cur rently happ en ing in th e indu stry, it is bel ieved that the FSS machines market is all set to soon witness a mini revolution . •

Email: avani jain@infomedia18.in

Innovati on ihdex

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To make a50-gm or 100-gm pouch, you just have to change the parts. Today, the machines come with several adjustments, and this has increased the flexibility ofthe customer and reduced the cost ofputting two machines for producing different sizes.

Shailesh Panchal Managing Director, AD Industries

The use ofSupervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) leads to central monitoring ofall machines and helps minimise wastage and achieve greater accuracy.

Niket Mankad General Manager, Pace Packaging Machi nes Pvt Ltd

Modern Packaging & Design January-February 2012 49