Krones' efficient Modulpac system

In 2004, Eckes-Granini GmbH, the leading company in the German fruit and beverages market, purchased a new complete filling line at its production facility in Brol for carton filling for 1.5 litre PKL beverages. The equipment has expanded its existing equipment capacity. This equipment is used for the production of famous brands such as "hohes C", "granini" and "Fruchttiger" by Eckes-Granini. The production process is: filling beverages into rectangular beverage cartons and packaging them in a wrap-around carton.

When Eckes-Granini chose the machinery for secondary packaging and palletizing functions, the management of the Brol plant decided to use the Krones Modulpac system, which included the Checkmat overall packaging monitor, packaging coding equipment, and for packaging. Corresponding Krones conveyors for pallets.

The 1.5 liter capacity beverage cartons are packaged in a wrap-around carton at a rate of 10,800 cartons/hour, and are weighed, coded, and then placed on a European tray. Since this 1.5-litre beverage cartridge is equipped with an off-center plastic rotary cover, the beverage cartridge must be turned in order to ensure that all closures are out before entering the secondary packaging procedure. This allows the weight of the multilayer carcass loaded on the pallet to be evenly distributed to all packages.

In the feed mechanism of the Modulpac device, the beverage containers are fed in two opposite directions, the length of each container being equal to the length of the four cartons. On one side of the device, the beverage container is pre-inclined by 180 degrees on the single conveyor device. This ensures that the beverage containers are aligned in the direction necessary for the closure and that the wrap-around cartons are not damaged.

Modulpac takes the carton blank out of the hopper and passes it straight to the timing chain. Then, the pre-grouped beverage boxes are pushed onto the carton blank, and the entire process is accurately guided. Afterwards, the carton blanks are folded and the hot-melt equipment provided by Nordson Corporation (the film thickness can be individually adjusted) uses a five-sided pneumatic pressure mechanism with a pressure plate to create a complete wound carton. The folding program can be customized according to different packages. Throughout the working process, the wrap-around cartons can be securely secured by the transfer fingers on the timing chain.

Integrated control system brings convenience to operators

Modulpac's control system is equipped in a stainless steel control box on the machine, saving space. The system includes a Simatic 317-2DP type PLC. Modulpac operates with a Zenon 10-inch color touch screen equipped with three positioning axes that are adjusted by a synchronous servo driver. In addition, touch screen monitors can display product data, operator control functions, graphical status displays, help texts, and diagnostic tools. The frequency converter for the container feed driver is also internally adjusted in the control box and complies with the Profibus data protocol.

Modulpac has a wide sliding door and an open "box style" machine design, which allows the operator to access the machine equipment quite easily while performing routine equipment adjustments or equipment maintenance. In the process of unloading Modulpac, a monitoring device uses optical elements to check whether there is a carton cover protruding, so that only fully sealed cartons can pass through and enter the next link in the assembly line. If a protruding flap is inspected, the corresponding tray is ejected by a pusher and the pusher is in place on the overall package monitor.

The Checkmat VK WG Package Monitor checks the weight of each wrap-around carton. If the minimum weight value is not reached, the carton will be rejected. In addition, the carton is coded with an inkjet printer and fed to a Pressant 2500 palletizer via a vertical conveyor.

Palletizer with 90 degree rotation column

Due to space constraints and the customer's requirement to connect a complete pallet to an existing pallet conveyor, the factory-installed Krones palletizer consists of a 90-degree swivel column and a packing feeder with a certain height. This allows the extra installed new palletizing system to take up less space than existing systems.

In order to improve the continuous stability of each carton on the tray, an anti-skid hot melt device in the palletizer feed mechanism sprays the hot melt onto the top of the carton. A wrap-around carton containing eight 1.5-litre capacity beverage boxes was formed in a staggered, layered form in a 17-carton unit on the structuring station. The entire carton is then transported to a louver-style gripper and brought to a position above the Euro pallet while rotating 90 degrees. The empty pallets are completely automatically pre-fetched from the respective hoppers and transferred to the pallet loading position of the palletizing machine using a mobile rack.

Then, the louver type gripper is lowered over the accurately positioned empty tray, and then both sides of the gripper are opened to unload the entire carton layer, thereby carefully placing the cartons down. This loading operation is repeated a total of four times. The pallets are palletized into four layers, exit the palletizer, and continue to operate on the existing pallet conveyor equipment and are transported to the customer's own fully automated high-rise warehouse.

Like the Modulpac system, the palletizer is also operated via a touchscreen monitor, which is integrated into a separate control panel and placed close to the feed table, providing a convenient path for pipeline operators. The grouping station and loading functions are also controlled via a PLC in a separate control box. The drive consists of a frequency-controlled motor equipped with a gear belt that is maintenance-free.
Eckes-Granini's plant manager at Brol, Bonhart Schenken, is very satisfied with the accessibility, user-friendliness, and easy-to-maintain mechanism of the Modulpac and Pressant systems.

Source: Industry Packaging Solutions