This article will take an in-depth look at packaging equipment.
What will be covered will include:
Packaging equipment is machinery used to enclose and protect products by encasing them in a container for sale, distribution, shipping, storage, and usage. It completes a process that is an essential part of marketing and presents the proper image and design of a product. The term packaging equipment refers to the machinery involved in efficiently and quickly placing a product in a protective container or wrapping.
The packaging process is a necessity for the protection of products and provides vital information regarding product use. Packaging equipment reduces labor costs and increases efficiency, and productivity. From shrink wrapping, coding and marking to case packing and sealing, packaging equipment completes every step of the packaging process efficiently and economically.
The wide assortment of products, packages, materials, and goods on the market make it necessary to have different types of packaging equipment to meet the need. In essence, it is impossible to have one type of packaging equipment that can package all forms of products, which has led to the development of a wide assortment of machines each of which has a special packaging function.
The various types of packaging machines include strapping machines, pallet wrappers, carton and container sealers, and industrial scales. Also included are sorting, counting, and accumulating machines as well as machines that close and seal products with glue, caps, corks, heat seal, and other methods.
The multiple functions and special designs of packaging equipment makes it difficult to place them in a single category since there is a different machine for every type of packaging requirement with custom designed machines for unique and unusual applications.
There are accumulators for gathering goods. Batching machines prepare items for processing or packaging while bagging machines, banding machines, sleeving machines, and box making machines complete other packaging processes.
Bundling machines form goods into piles for banding or wrapping while capping machines screw caps, and carton machines make cartons. Closing machines close and seal packages. Bottling machines fill bottles for batching machines to collect for wrapping machines to wrap in plastic before being placed on a pallet to be wrapped by another wrapping machine.
The intricacy and complexing of the packing process is efficiently and easily completed by automated or semi automated packing equipment.
Moving from manual through semi-automatic to totally automated packaging processes offers benefits to some packagers. Other than the control of labor costs, quality may be more reliable, and throughput may be optimized.
Efforts at packaging operation automation progressively utilize robotics and programmable logic controllers.
Large completely automatic packaging operations can include several parts of major machinery from different manufacturers, also conveyors and ancillary machinery. Joining such systems may be a challenge. Often external engineering firms or consulting firms are utilized to coordinate huge projects.
“Machinery” and “equipment” are used interchangeably when it comes to packaging. In this article when discussing types, “machinery” will refer to machines which do the actual packaging and “equipment” will refer to machines or materials that are part of the packaging line.
To understand the cost of packaging machinery, particular needs must first be understood, the required type of machinery and the additional selections required for the specific applications. It is pertinent to also consider including a preventative maintenance plan or seeking service from a dedicated technician to arrange downtime on the customer’s terms.
With all these aspects in mind, the reality is that the packaging machinery cost is an extremely sensitive case. This implies the cost associated with the packaging line will vary greatly depending on competitors. Since each packaging line is exclusive with its own collection of materials, machinery, energy requirements, geographical location, operators the cost incurred from one line to the other is seldom identical.
The following discussion will look at the different dynamics of packaging lines and the incurred costs in relation to purchasing machines, materials, and the other components required to properly operate the equipment.
To understand packaging machinery cost it is important to consider the following stages:
Next, it is important to become more acquainted with math included in packaging materials. Considering shrink film for instance. Price per roll is vital though price per package is much more important. Understanding costs of each package, calculating it, and how to save money will go a long way in helping to budget properly and exploit cost efficiency.
The math begins with a calculation of actual film utilization and then leads into definite cost per package.
Film usage is found by dividing film length by film cut off and subtracting the rewrap percentage. A film length has a standard of 4,375 ft/roll or 52,500 inches for a 60-gauge center-folded film. The film cut off point is 11 inches. If this is divided, it comes to approximately 4,772 packages in each roll. Subtracting the percentage rewrap of 3%, this film leaves approximately 4,629 packages/roll of film.
Math Equation example:
4,375 feet/roll = 52,500 inches/roll
52,500 ÷ 11 inches of film cut-off = 4,772.73 packages/roll
4,772 × 0.03 re-wrap percentage = 143.16
4,772 - 143.16 = 4,629.57 packages/roll of film
This is much easier math, since it’s only how much each roll costs to buy, divided by film usage. For instance when paying $128/roll of film. This number is divided by 4,629 packages and then multiplied by 1,000. The result is a real package fee of $27.65 per one thousand packages.
Math Equation Example:
$128/roll
4,629.57 packages/roll
128 ÷ 4,629.57 = 0.2765
.2765 × 1,000 = $27.65/thousand packages
A tangible anticipation of shrink wrap package price can be formulated using these calculations. The following tips must be considered to reduce that number.
While meeting with the sales rep, questions about rebates, special offers and extra opportunities must be asked to reduce the purchasing cost. Packaging machines are a huge investment and there might be various methods in which the price of purchase can be reduced.
When buying packaging machinery there will be offers from many sales representatives. Questions should be addressed about base machinery and the needed options for effectively packaging products. Many manufacturers should be contacted to get different quotes.
Sometimes a virtually identical quote from one company can be received thousands of dollars cheaper than their competitors regardless of any major variance between theirs and other vendors of machinery.
At times customers simply pay more for a brand name. When it comes to packaging machinery, buying a product for its famous brand does not always mean it will package goods the best. A better machine could be gotten from lesser known brands which package products.
There are many things to consider in buying and functioning packaging machines which are not cookie-cutter answers for every business. There are some facets of purchasing and running packaging machines in which there are about two options. One option might be correct for a business and wrong for another. These include:
A preventative maintenance strategy is an extra cost to consider when purchasing packaging machinery, but it’ll save thousands of dollars. When components wear out, they might cause failures that might result in extended interruption and lead to very costly repairs. When on top of consistent maintenance, the risk of more damage will be reduced.
Damage may happen to other parts of equipment when a damaged part fails, or even risk injuring the workforce. A consistent preventative maintenance plan strategy will significantly reduce downtimes, keep machinery operating at peak performance and guarantee fast repair and service calls.
A different formulation for material might reduce cost on the machine that runs it, such as shrink machinery and stretch wrappers. What many companies at times miss is that there can be more than one type of material which works for a certain product.
Having representatives from several different vendors give an analysis of existing packaging lines will provide information about the particular packaging procedure like current materials, equipment, and procedures. This information will enable the company and the rep to find methods to improve upon current procedures before progression to new machinery.
Packaging is essential to protect products. It is now done primarily through the usage of packaging machinery. Machinery plays progressively significant roles such as:
This chapter will discuss the different types of packaging machinery and equipment used.
The different types of packaging machinery include:
Filling machines or fillers are utilized for packaging, mostly for beverage and food but for other products also. These are used to fill either a pouch or a bottle, depending on the product. The following are the most popular.
Augers or agitator fillers are made to fill dry mixes, like flour and sugar. The fillers have a hopper in a cone’s shape which holds the mix and fills it in a pouch utilizing an auger conveyor which the agitator controls.
The mix is put in a pouch which is made from poly or paper which is made in a collar and the pouch is sealed by a consecutive number of dies and heaters. The interface which has the process applying the powder is of key importance to guarantee an efficient filing.
These offer a blend of speed, versatility, and accuracy for linear feeders. Every weighing-hopper is constructed to accommodate the requirements for precise weights.
Constructed for oils, liquids, and thin edible products. These fillers are constructed when they fill a tub or bottle that enters the machinery. This emits the open bottle back on another conveyor machine for sealing.
These are constructed for products which are counted by portions instead of weight. These are constructed for small bottles like other flow fillers. The filler’s hopper is set up to allow scan counting of candy pieces or tablets.
Positive displacement, pump filling machinery handles a broad range of container dimensions, fill volume, and types of product. While originally constructed for filling gels, lotions, and creams, these fillers also accommodate water heavy and thin paste products.
Some of the products this machinery simply fills are heavy sauces, cosmetic creams, hair conditioners and thick shampoo, honey, paste cleaners, hair gels, and car wax.
Vertical form fill sealing machinery is a type of automatic assembly line packaging system, normally utilized in the food packaging industry, and a wide range of other products. The machine makes stand-up pouches and plastic bags out of a flat film roll, while filling the bags simultaneously with products and sealing filled bags. Both liquids and solids can be bagged utilizing this packaging system.
The machinery is loaded with a continual flat plastic film roll, which has had labeling and artwork on the interior or exterior of the film. While plastic is the most normally utilized packaging material in the food industry, the machinery can also be utilized to make continuous metalized paper, film/foil, and fabric products vessels by altering the edge seaming/sealing methods. For other products the film might first be put through a sterilizing chemical wash and drying before using in the packaging system.
Cartoning machinery or cartoner, is packaging machinery that makes cartons: close, folded, erect, sealed and side seamed cartons. Packaging machines which make carton board blanks into cartons filled with products or bags of products or many products into single cartons, after the filling process, the machinery engages its slots or tabs to put adhesive and cover both the ends of cartons wholly sealing the carton.
Cartoning machines may be grouped into two types:
Cartoning machines which pick single pieces from stacks of folded cartons and erect them, fill them with products or bags of products or many products horizontally via open ends and close by tucking carton end flaps or applying adhesive or glue. The products may be pushed into the cartons by pressurized air or through mechanical sleeves. For other applications, the product is put manually into the carton. This kind of Cartoning machinery is commonly used for packaging confectionery, foodstuffs, medicine, sundry goods, cosmetics, etc.
Pallet wrappers are pervasive in numerous packaging lines worldwide. Having substantial cost savings for big operations over wrapping manually, utilizing pallet wrappers also exploits the stretching capabilities of the stretch film. This guarantees saving both money and time.
A stretch wrapper helps ensure that exact load containment for wrapping operation is being used. For load containment, three variables are considered:
With this machine, a pallet is placed on a turntable that rotates while a wrap applying system distributes the stretch wrap onto the load. The wrap delivery system usually starts at the bottom and up to the top then back to the bottom.
A turntable wrappers is one of the most common types of stretch wrapping machinery and can be set up to work harmoniously with different kinds of applications.
With straddle wrappers a load stays fixed while a wrap applying system rotates around the load. This type of wrapper wraps light weight and heavy unstable loads and is able to wrap low to high volumes.
Orbital wrappers are also referred to as “ringer” wraps the pallet by going under and over the load as the load moves on a conveyor machine into the machinery. Orbital wrappers are mainly utilized for packaging oddly shaped or flattened products like rolled carpets, pipes, and windows.
These are fast wrappers that are typically capable of wrapping 200 loads an hour. These machines are at times found in the beverage and toiletry industries. They are exceedingly specialized equipment and only contribute a small part of stretch wrapping machinery presently in use.
They enable the load to stay fixed while the wrap applying system rotates around the pallet.
A shrink tunnel is a staple of many packaging lines. When configured with the correct temperature settings, it is a packaging powerhouse. It works by conveying a product that has been put inside a shrink bag produced from a shrink film via a hot tunnel which causes the heat sensitive film to shrink evenly around the item inside.
Airflow from the machinery avoids the products from becoming too hot. If a product is mostly sensitive, particularly heat sensing tapes are put through the machinery to identify if the product is suitable for packaging using a heat tunnel.
If the tapes identify that the heat tunnel is inappropriate for packaging a product, other choices can be recommended by the packaging professionals.
These put products into a plastic shell which is backed either by a blister board piece or another plastic piece. The three kinds of carded packaging are skin packs, blister packs, and clamshells. Skin packs and blister packs have plastic shells which are built-in with blister board backers and clamshells are entirely made from plastic shells which close as their namesake shellfish.
For numerous goods, carded packaging like skin packs, blister packs, and clamshells give safety dynamics or a visual appeal which won’t be gotten otherwise. Blister packs are usually utilized to package fishing lures since they provide safety from the hooks at the same time giving a clear window to see the product contained inside.
Skin packaging has a particular shelf appeal for tools like wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, and hammers. As skin packs are frequently sealed to fit the outline of the product inside, they enable potential customers to more closely see the package contents physically and also hold the product within securely.
They come in semi-automatic and automatic models. They have rotating sections which hold the plastic part of the blister pack in position.
As the section of the machinery rotates, empty plastic shells either automatically or manually are filled with the product. Next, blister board backers are put on the plastic shell’s back either by machine or hand with a glue and the blister pack is done.
While blister packs and skin packs share similarities, the machinery that makes the two are very different. Skin pack machinery has a platform for resting the backing substrate or blister board. The products to be packaged are placed on the board.
The machine puts a heated soft plastic layer which shapes itself over the products. Vacuum sealing is often implemented to guarantee a tight fit. The substrate then binds to the heat-seal layer on the cardboard.
There is a distinctive dissimilarity between blister and clamshells packs. Clamshells are a one-piece molded plastic having a hinge. They could be sealed by a number of ways including staples, pressed fit closures, buttons, RF, heat, etc.
Clamshell machines have an automatically closing the lid that could be done but needs a lot of space.
These are machines which erect or unfold cardboard boxes for filling with products. There are manual, automatic, and semi-automatic types of this machine. On a manual machinery, a human is needed to unfold a box, fold it or tape the box flaps into shape by a taping machine or by hand and the box is handed to the next worker or sent through a conveyor.
Semi-automatic erectors carry out the third and second stages automatically through a conveyor machine which conveys the box via areas which force it into the exact shape. The erected box is now conveyed to a pile by conveyor machine or by hand.
An automatic case erector utilizes mechanical components like a robotic arm to take a box from the pile, unfold, and put it onto an automatic conveyor machine. The box then moves through the conveyor machine and it is filled with the products and sealed either by easy human interaction or mechanically.
The different types of packaging equipment include:
Lasers, in particular CO2 laser, are at maximum stage of efficiency when processing packaging materials like paper and cardboard, wood and derivatives, and plastics and derivatives.
A beam vaporizes a part of material as set by a defined path. The final characteristic of the cut is dependent on the material. CO2 laser cuts make very clean edges on many materials. The final piece needn’t be further finished and is readily usable.
Laser cutting can be utilized to cut openings and windows on packages, to make details like easy-to-open tabs, tear openings, filtering systems, cutting parts of packages for assembling later.
Laser engraving and marking utilize lasers for imprinting a mark on material. The two procedures are very similar. In laser marking transformation of the material happens superficially only. Even if the sign is permanent, the material is decolorized. In laser engraving, a deeper transformation is on the material. The sign is very deep and it is possible to achieve tangible feeling on the incision.
Lasers allow manufactures to engrave their logos permanently in remarkable detail. Production batches or expiry dates can be put on the packaging.
A label is a piece of plastic film, paper, metal, cloth, or other material attached to a product or container, on which is printed or written symbols or information about the product. Packaging might have labeling affixed to or integrated with the package.
These can carry barcodes, pricing, UPC identification, usage guidance, advertising, addresses, recipes, and so on. They also can be utilized to help indicate or resist pilferage or tampering.
A pallet is a flat transporting assembly, which supports packages in a stable manner when it’s being lifted by a pallet jack, forklift, a front loader, an erect crane, or a jacking device. It is the structural basis of unit loads, which enables storage and handling efficiencies. Shipping containers or goods are at times placed on pallets protected with stretch wraps, strapping, or shrink wraps and shipped.
It works perfectly with modern packaging such as intermodal containers and corrugated boxes generally utilized for bulk shipping. While many pallets are wooden, they can also be paper, plastic, metal, and recycled materials.
Marking is the same as labeling. Marking is an identification number, descriptive name, instructions, cautions, specification, weight, or UN markings, or combinations, needed on external packaging of dangerous materials or hazardous goods.
A collaborative robot is a double or single robotic arm which can be trained to imitate motions or gestures. These robots repeat the operation over and over again. Some of these robots improve on the trained gestures. After learning from repeating motions, they learn to carry out better work.
These robots are also made with safety measures. They have sensors that sense when a human moves into a collaborative space. When this occurs, the robot slows down or comes to a complete halt. When the human exits the collaborative space, the robot carries on with work. Many companies utilize collaborative robots for packaging to create efficiencies in their tasks. Collaborative robots aid companies in getting their products on store shelves.
This chapter will discuss the considerations when purchasing packaging equipment as well as applications and benefits of packaging equipment.
A summary of considerations when purchasing packaging equipment include:
These considerations can be expanded and discussed as below:
Choosing to go to the manufacturer directly is a common choice. The manufacturer knows their machinery inside and out. As such, they must be capable of answering a customer’s most astute questions.
That being said, a manufacturer will evidently be biased when answering questions about the best brand or service. There are many semantics when purchasing from an OEM, and it is the same with a distributor. From goods cost, to customer service, and repair quality, distributors have their pros and cons.
Depending on many factors involving your location, budget and other subtleties like production lines existing infrastructure, distributors might or might not be the best option for a company.
There is an absolute multitude of considerations when selecting packaging machinery and materials are some of the most important things to consider.
In addition to packaging equipment and materials, the atmosphere and environment also are imperative dynamics to ponder. Working with a distributor allows review of an excess of choices and they will be capable of helping with acquiring the correct advice, information and products.
Extreme cold or heat must be counterbalanced by cooling or heating systems where extreme temperatures are normal. Ensuring the proper cooling and heating systems are in place is necessary.
One thing is for sure no customer wants to operate pneumatic machinery. Pneumatic machinery is not only exceedingly obsolete, but it is also negative to the environment since it utilizes an excessive amount of electricity.
Some machinery has completely removed pneumatic parts which results in big cost cuts since compressed air is a very costly utility in a plant.
Since air cylinders wear out, removing pneumatics will lower buying replacements and having to dispose of them. Other machinery offers “lean technology” which removes film breaks. This means there is no need to re-wrap loads and put extra material away. Usually, machinery with lean technology utilizes less materials with an exceptional metered delivery system of film.
Running eco-friendly materials is also a significant consideration. While most of the metals which make up packaging machines could be recycled, some materials cannot or are simply not recycled.
Depending on the machinery types running and layout of equipment, it might be wise to make a strategy for moving the appropriate equipment at the appropriate time. Depending on the volume, electrical requirements, location on the line and machinery weight, some early planning is a significant dynamic of this procedure.
Depending on the flow of a packaging line, particular machinery must first be installed to guarantee a timely and efficient installation. A technical service contact or company must choose which machinery to move first.
Buying is a big investment for many businesses. Frequently buyers are uncertain or uninformed about the process. One thing to decide is whether to buy or lease the machinery. The reality is none of the options is one size fits all. Both have their pros and cons and a different selection of line dynamics and applications that may suggest one is better than the other.
The considerations that will aid in deciding which the best option for a packaging line are.
It is important to research and investigate three suppliers and be informed on several significant dynamics in all of them.
Location – A packaging machine supplier quite close to a company’s geographical location will easily travel when needed for emergency service or repairs.
Technicians – Certified and experienced technicians who are trained to operate on packaging equipment.
Customer Service – It might be tempting to buy the cheapest packaging material to cut costs, but buying from a business with poor customer service, may cause a loss of the anticipated savings. Poor service frequently means lost dollars.
Cost – When comparing, there are commonly cheap films which have low clarity and high cost films which will shine better and have more clarity.
Parts – Depending on the running frequency of machinery, your downtime because of repairs or emergency service will differ. It is imperative to ask machinery suppliers about parts availability, lead times, and preventative maintenance schedules.
The different applications of packaging equipment include:
Food – ready-to-eat food, grains & seeds, milk & liquids, spice, coffee, sugar, oil packaging machine, salt, tea, bakery, beverage, candy/confections, dairy, beverage, and bakery.
Pharmacy – tablets, capsules, granulation, oral liquid dosage, ophthalmic and ent, injectables, gels, and oral dosage powder.
Others – agrochemicals, adhesives, fertilizer, lube oil, coolants, varnishes, paint powder, pet foods, hardware, cement & wall putty, pigments and dyes, foundry, inoculants, and flux.
Some of the benefits of packaging equipment include:
Production – When producing numerous quality products, a full-bodied packaging line will break or make a company. This is especially true when producing high volumes of goods in short amounts of time. Investing tens or in some instances millions of dollars in packaging equipment can be discouraging over the long-term and may make it a worthy investment.
Total Cost of Ownership – This is one of the most vital dynamics to consider while weighing options in the packaging department. With the ideal packaging machines, a smaller labor force will be required therefore paying out very fewer wages. Indeed, packaging machines may come with a large price tag, but when total cost of ownership of a packaging line is taken and compared to manual laborers, then machinery is the most practical option.
Speed – Packaging machinery enables the packaging of more packages per hour than manual labor. When the speed of getting products to market is a pertinent dynamic for a business, packaging machinery is extremely important.
Reliability – Packaging machines do not take personal, sick, or vacation time. While interruption may happen because of mechanical failure these issues are simply remedied. Coupled with a scheduled preventative maintenance, packaging lines save thousands of fruitless dollars and time.
Some of the drawbacks of packaging equipment include:
Cost –Packaging adds to production cost and the subsequent retail price. Packaging can allude to as much as 40% of the products selling price in industries like the cosmetic industry. New packaging may be costly to develop, alluding to the product's cost.
Landfill Impact – Packaging is accountable for significant parts of waste streams. Packaging is accountable for at least one third of municipal waste in the USA. Some waste may be recyclable, but most materials are not suitable for recycling. For example, recycled plastic might not be utilized in food containers, though the original plastic was from food containers. Much of the packaging waste ends up in landfills.
Production Footprint – Products having more packaging also utilize more resources. About 12 million oil barrels are utilized to produce shopping bags in the U.S.A for consumers every year. Above 10 million barrels are utilized for making water bottles. The production also needs energy, generally sourced from fossil fuels, and might produce water and air pollution.
Packing equipment is pertinent in every industry because it has the ability to influence the production cost of given products in the business. The more competent the packing machines are, the less costly the production is sustained and the higher the number of sales done for that given product.
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