Continuous printing of transport packaging

Definition of the task
The customer produces wine gums. The transport packaging – that is, the boxes for the wine gums – are to be printed in the system so that they can then be stacked on pallets. The boxes each weigh a maximum of 9 kg. They need to be conveyed and rotated by 90°, from lengthwise to crosswise transportation. At the same time, they need to be aligned so as to enable continuous printing without interruption. To ensure this, the boxes need to be conveyed past the printer at a rate of approx. 5 m/min. The customer would like to be able to produce different formats of packaging on the line. This means that it must be possible to adjust the conveyor flexibly to suit the different formats. The system runs in three-shift operation.

mk solution
The GUF-P 2000 belt conveyor is the best-selling conveyor from mk. For this project, the employees at mk were once again able to make use of this proven standard system, meeting the customer’s requirements by making minor adjustments: A retainer, which is mounted on the conveyor, ensures that the boxes are rotated by 90°. The retainer is fitted with a roller, which can not only rotate but also be fixed in position. This means that the boxes can be rotated by different degrees depending on which format is currently being processed. The boxes are rotated against a side rail and thus aligned towards the printer. The machine operator can adjust the side rail with two clamping levers to ensure that the boxes are always guided parallel to the printer regardless of their size. The printer itself was mounted on a VST 2011 adjusting unit, fitted with a gliding assembly. The operator can adjust the height of the printer to the nearest millimetre using a handwheel and read the height on a digital display. This means that the customer can also adjust the printer to suit the different box formats.

Customer benefits

• Flexible adjustment options to suit different sizes of packaging
• Proven technology with tailor-made adjustments

Products

> GUF-P 2000
> VST 2011