Total coverage

On stand 5320, Baldor is showing for the first time in Europe two innovations claimed to improve reliability and reduce costs for automation and machine builders. Believed to be the ‘ultimate’ mounted ball bearing for washdown operating environments such as food and pharmaceutical processing, the Ultra Kleen bearing features a 100% stainless steel bearing insert plus a new sealing system and ball retainer that retain lubrication and prevent washout in wet operating environments.

A second innovation is new ‘smart’ drives that offer space and cost savings for single-axis automation requirements, in an Ethernet-compatible form. The standalone drives are compatible with Baldor’s Mint motion programming language.

Canyon Europe, on stand 5653, will launch an upside-down version of its CHS 3AN industrial trigger sprayer. The development of an industrial version of the valve follows on from the success in the European market of the T95 consumer model with upside-down valve. To fulfill the growing demand for multi-directional dispensing, Canyon has developed a ’highly effective’ valve mechanism using a single ball construction. It is said to be ideal for hard to reach surfaces, for example, for toilet bowl and bathroom applications and in the garden care sector.

Stand 5334 will see Endoline Machinery showcasing the 734 fully automatic random case sealer, which can run at 20 cases/min. In addition, the On-Edge system - launched at last year’s PPMA Show – will be showcased. This machine was developed by Endoline and Quin Systems following the continuing success of their joint creation, the Versapack, and offers customers a new variant suited to packing both shelf-ready and standard cases. Products can now be packed in almost any orientation including ‘on-edge’, which presents the product to its best advantage on the supermarket shelf.

On stand 5461, Fischbein Saxon will be displaying new machinery developments including the high-powered SB4000 band sealer, bag top formers, bag placers, palletisers, conveyors, binding and bunching machines.

The Zodiac thermal transfer overprinter (TTO) from ICE – Interactive Coding Equipment (stand 5631) is now available in an Ingress Protection (IP) rated wash-down version, which provides protection against dust and water ingress, making it suitable for packaging applications in food factories. The new IP-rated Zodiac has retained the intuitive 8.4 inch SVGA touchscreen graphical user interface with easy-to-learn, icon-based controls.

All of the standard RS232, Ethernet, digital I/O and USB connections are IP65 rated, removing the need to place the printer within an additional expensive or bulky enclosure, even in damp or dusty environments such as salad packing or frozen food factories.

Cost reduction

An Ilapak (stand 5520) development promised to bring customers’ operating costs per pack ’to a new low’ is the modular, horizontal Carrera 4000, on show for the first time at Total. The modular concept allows customers to define their machine’s specification and performance at the time of purchase and revise their specification throughout the life of the machine, ’at minimum cost’, as their requirements change.

Also on display for the first time is Ilapak’s new Vegatronic 500 Combo, a fully integrated Vegatronic 500 bagging machine and 14-head Weightronic weigher. This ’competitively priced’ machine is said to be exceptionally easy to operate, with an integrated touchscreen interface that controls both the Weightronic and the Vegatronic as one integrated system. Another advantage of the 500 Combo is its compact design.

A highlight of Ishida Europe’s stand (5610) is the integrated Astro 202 bagmaker and CCW-RS-214 multi-head weigher, offering an economic solution for snack food manufacturers, with the flexibility to weigh and pack pillow, gusseted and block bottom bags with minimum change parts. It features servomotors and software controlled variable seal time, jaw temperature and pressure said to allow the handling of many film types and offer improved seal integrity for consistent pack quality. Servo driven and vacuum assisted pull-down belts ‘ensure accurate and consistent bag lengths to maximise film use and optimise pack presentation’.

Exhibiting on stand 5723, Multipond will introduce a system for fully automatic weighing of sticky products such as fresh or marinated meat, poultry and fish. The automated handling of such products is extremely challenging, which normally results in these products still being manually or semi-automatically weighed. The company’s patented automation innovation is said to be gentle on products and easy to clean.

A special surface profile on feed trays and the central distribution cone are said to minimise the contact surface between the product and the cone and/or the feed tray surface, leading to lower product adhesion. Consequently, the system does not require additional equipment such as a screw conveyor. The product is not exposed to any additional mechanical influences, except for the usual vibration from the feed trays.

Automation company Omron Electronics (stand 5384) will introduce its new range of inverter and servodrive products, which will be incorporated into scalable machine demonstrations. The new JX inverter is said to be ideal for a variety of applications, including conveyors, fans and pumps. Omron’s new ’flagship’ inverter drive, the MX2, with built-in safety functions conforming to ISO 13849, will also be on show, as well as the Accurax G5 servodrive, with side by side mounting capability, built-in safety and communications functions, saving up to 50% panel space with its diminutive size.

Open Date Equipment (stand 5821) has introduced thermal inkjet printers to its range of coding and marking machines which, it says, makes inkjet technology affordable and practical for many more end user markets. The new CleanCode LX, driven by Lexmark printhead technology, is said to deliver greater print distance, up to 9.5mm and higher ink yield than the EV models, as well as print resolution of 300 or 600dpi at line speeds of up to 61m/min. Around 20% more printable characters per cartridge are claimed.

Easy automation is the focus of the RA Rodriguez stand, 5865, which will feature two new stand-alone systems: a ’simple and highly economical’ robotic arm and a small item palletising system.

Introduced to the UK last year, the Universal Robot provides plug-and-pay productivity. This compact, lightweight industrial robot arm has six axes of movement and is said to be quick and easy to install. It is claimed to be an ideal entry level automation device that operates from a standard 240V supply.

The handling system that will be demonstrated combines proven components from IEF Werner, to provide orderly and gentle transfer of items to or from packaging lines, often integrating end of line processes such as part marking. It is designed to fill - or empty - a tray with small items. The tray is then indexed down the stack and a new tray presented. Pallet weights range from 5-30kg.