Carton Folder-Gluer Product

Overview

The carton folder-gluer is the final converting machine in a folding-carton line. It takes flat, printed, die-cut blanks and turns them into glued, folded cartons that ship to the packer flat and erect into a box. A straight-line machine running simple reverse-tuck cartons can deliver well over 100,000 units per hour; lock-bottom and multi-corner work runs slower because the blank passes through more folding stages.

Blanks enter at the Feeder Section, a lead-edge continuous feeder that lifts the pile, separates the top blank with vacuum suckers, and meters it onto the transport at registered intervals. The blank then runs as a continuous stream through the downstream sections, each adding one operation while the Main Drive keeps every section in phase through a synchronising line shaft.

How it works

The first station is the Pre-Fold / Break Section, where breaker rollers and folding hooks flex every creased score back and forth so the panels fold cleanly without cracking the board. The Glue Application Unit then lays adhesive on the glue flap — cold PVA through timed guns or hot-melt for difficult coated stock — with a sensor confirming each glue line.

In the Folding Section, driven belts, fold bars, hook folders, and plow rails progressively wrap the glued panels over so the leading and trailing edges meet on the move. The folded carton crosses the Transfer Section into the Press / Compression Section, where compression belts and spring-loaded rollers hold the seam under load for the dwell time the adhesive needs to grab.

The Delivery Section counts finished cartons, ejects a gap to mark each batch, and shingles them onto the outfeed for the operator. Overhead, the Inspection Camera images every carton to verify fold accuracy and glue placement, diverting any defect before it reaches the stack.', },

'case-erector': { specs: [ ['Machine type', 'Automatic RSC case erector with bottom taping'], ['Throughput', 'Up to 20 cases/min'], ['Case length', '150–600 mm'], ['Case width', '120–500 mm'], ['Case height', '120–500 mm'], ['Blank type', 'Regular slotted container (RSC), single/double wall'], ['Board grade', 'B, C, E and BC flute corrugated'], ['Magazine capacity', 'Up to 700 mm blank stack'], ['Sealing method', 'Pressure-sensitive tape, 48–75 mm'], ['Air consumption', '~150 NL/min at 6 bar'], ['Erecting drive', 'Servo squaring arm'], ['Installed power', '1.5–3 kW'], ], body: '## Overview

A case erector automates the slowest part of manual packing: opening a flat corrugated blank into a square case and sealing its bottom so it can be filled. The machine takes regular slotted container (RSC) blanks from a magazine, squares them with vacuum, folds the four bottom flaps, and tapes the bottom seam — delivering a stream of open-top cases ready for a packer or filler downstream. A single machine replaces several operators and holds case dimensions consistent enough for automatic loading.

The welded Machine Frame carries every station in fixed alignment, and the Control Panel sequences the erect-fold-tape cycle off case-present sensors.

How it works

Flat blanks sit in the inclined Blank Magazine, which feeds the front of the stack forward and signals when supply runs low. The Vacuum Pick & Erect Unit is the core motion: vacuum cups grip the outer face of the lead blank, and a servo-driven arm pulls and squares it into an open tube against fixed stops, so the case opens fully without skewing.

With the case open, the Flap Folding Unit closes the bottom. Fixed plows fold the leading and trailing minor flaps inward, then a powered kicker and plow fold the major flaps closed over them. The squared bottom passes the Bottom Tape Head, a self-contained cartridge that wipes pressure-sensitive tape across the seam with a lead applying roller, buffs it down with a trailing roller, and severs it for the next case.

The Discharge Conveyor carries the erected, sealed case out to the line. Driving all of this, the Pneumatic System conditions plant air and switches the vacuum generator, flap kicker, and squaring cylinders through a solenoid valve bank, while perimeter guarding interlocks the moving stations.', },

'digital-label-press': { specs: [ ['Print technology', 'UV-curable drop-on-demand piezo inkjet'], ['Color configuration', 'CMYK + White (5 printbars)'], ['Native resolution', '1200 × 1200 dpi'], ['Print speed', 'Up to 70 m/min'], ['Max web width', '340 mm'], ['Max print width', '330 mm'], ['Substrates', 'Paper, PP, PE, PET filmic label stock'], ['Substrate calliper', '12–340 µm'], ['Curing', 'UV LED pinning + final cure'], ['Finishing', 'Inline laminate, semi-rotary die-cut, rewind'], ['Inspection', '100% line-scan vision'], ['Front end', 'DFE / RIP server, ICC color management'], ['Min repeat', 'Variable (no print cylinder)'], ], body: '## Overview

A digital label press prints pressure-sensitive label stock roll-to-roll with no printing plates or cylinders, so every job — including variable data and short runs — images directly from the digital file. This machine is a UV inkjet press: five fixed piezo printbars jet CMYK plus opaque white onto the moving web, UV LEDs cure the ink instantly, and an inline finishing module laminates, die-cuts, and rewinds the result in one pass.

The whole line sits on a Machine Frame & Guarding that locates each module on a common datum, and is coordinated by the Control & Electronics electronics, where a DFE/RIP server rasterises jobs and streams pixel data to the heads while a machine controller sequences the axes.

How it works

The Unwind Module pays off the substrate reel under closed-loop tension, smooths it through a dancer, and corona-treats the surface so ink wets and adheres. The Web Transport then pulls the web through the press at a constant, registered speed on servo-driven nip rollers, held straight by an edge guide.

At the heart of the press, the Inkjet Print Engine carries five page-wide printbars of stitched piezo heads, each fed by a recirculating ink supply that degasses and pressure-controls its color and kept healthy by a capping and purge maintenance station. Immediately after each color, the UV LED Cure Module module pins the ink with UV LED arrays and gives a final full cure, while the Primer & Varnish Coater can prime the stock ahead of printing or lay a protective varnish over the image.

The Vision Inspection station line-scans every label against the reference image to catch defects, missing nozzles, and registration drift. Finally the Finishing Module module laminates, semi-rotary die-cuts the label shapes, strips the matrix, and winds the finished roll under tension.', },

'flexo-press': { specs: [ ['Press type', 'Central-impression (CI) flexographic'], ['Color stations', '6 (gearless servo decks)'], ['Max print speed', 'Up to 600 m/min'], ['Max web width', '1,300 mm'], ['Print repeat', '300–800 mm (sleeve change)'], ['Substrates', 'BOPP, PE, PET film, paper, laminates'], ['Substrate calliper', '12–250 µm'], ['Ink system', 'Solvent / water-based, chambered doctor blade'], ['Drying', 'Inter-deck hot-air + tunnel dryer'], ['Registration', 'Servo, camera mark-reading, ±0.05 mm'], ['CI drum control', 'Tempered-water temperature stabilised'], ['Treatment', 'Inline corona treater'], ['Drive', 'Direct-drive servo per deck'], ], body: '## Overview

A central-impression flexographic press prints flexible packaging — film, foil, and label webs — at high speed using relief plates and fast-drying ink. All print stations share one large, precision impression drum: the web wraps the drum and every deck prints against it in turn, which keeps tight color-to-color registration even on stretchy film. This machine carries six gearless servo decks, so colors can be added, removed, or re-registered electronically rather than by changing gears.

The press is built on a heavy Main Frame and runs under a Control System that coordinates all servo axes, reads registration cameras, and presents the job to the operator.

How it works

The Unwind Unit holds the parent film reel and feeds it at controlled tension, with a dancer roller reporting tension back to the loop and a splice table for roll changes. The Infeed Section steers the web straight with an edge-sensing guide and pulls it into the press at set speed.

The web then wraps the Central Impression Drum Assembly, a ground and balanced impression cylinder held dimensionally stable by tempered water circulated through a rotary union. Each Print Deck is one color: a chambered doctor-blade anilox roller meters a precise ink film onto a photopolymer plate cylinder, which prints against the drum, with micro-registration setting print position. Wet-on-wet color separation depends on the Dryer System, whose inter-deck hot-air knives flash off solvent before the next deck and a final tunnel dryer cures the full print.

After the last deck, the Corona Treater can raise the film's surface energy for downstream lamination, and the Outfeed & Rewind winds the finished reel at controlled tension. Throughout, the Web Tension Control system reads load cells and trims the unwind, infeed, and rewind drives to hold web tension constant.', },

'industrial-label-printer': { specs: [ ['Print method', 'Thermal transfer / direct thermal'], ['Print resolution', '203, 300 or 600 dpi'], ['Print speed', 'Up to 350 mm/s'], ['Max print width', '104 mm'], ['Max media width', '114 mm'], ['Media type', 'Die-cut label, tag, continuous, black-mark'], ['Ribbon length', 'Up to 450 m, 1" or 1/2" core'], ['Media sensing', 'Transmissive gap + reflective black-mark'], ['Interfaces', 'USB, Ethernet, RS-232'], ['Memory', 'Onboard flash for fonts and formats'], ['Finishing', 'Optional cutter or peel-and-present'], ['Display', 'Color touchscreen + keypad'], ['Duty', 'Industrial metal chassis'], ], body: '## Overview

An industrial label printer prints barcodes, text, and graphics onto die-cut label stock on demand, one label at a time, at the speeds a warehouse, factory, or shipping desk needs. This is a thermal-transfer machine: a heated printhead melts pigment off a ribbon onto each label as a stepper-driven platen pulls the stock through. Run without ribbon, the same head images heat-sensitive direct-thermal stock for short-life labels.

A die-cast Chassis & Covers holds every module in rigid alignment behind a hinged media door, and the Main Board renders label formats, drives the head and motors, and exposes USB, Ethernet, and serial host ports.

How it works

The Media Path feeds die-cut labels from a roll past a sensor that reads the gap between labels (or a printed black mark) to find each label's leading edge, while metering thermal-transfer ribbon from a back-tensioned supply spindle to a powered take-up spindle so fresh ribbon is always under the head.

At the print line, the Print Mechanism presses the printhead, ribbon, and label against the platen roller. The head is a linear array of heating dots on a ceramic substrate; the controller pulses individual dots while the platen stepper advances the label one dot row at a time, so the image builds line by line. A head thermistor lets the controller hold print darkness constant as the head warms.

After printing, the optional Cutter / Peeler Module either guillotines the web between labels or peels each label off its liner for pick-and-apply, holding the next label until the dispensed one is taken. The operator drives the printer from the Control Panel, a color touchscreen with feed, pause, and cancel keys.', },

'offset-printing-press': { specs: [ ['Press type', 'Sheet-fed offset lithographic, four-color'], ['Color units', '4 (CMYK)'], ['Max sheet size', '740 × 1,050 mm (B1)'], ['Min sheet size', '340 × 480 mm'], ['Max print speed', '16,000 sheets/hour'], ['Stock range', '0.04–0.6 mm (40–600 gsm)'], ['Plate type', 'Aluminium litho plates'], ['Inking', 'Roller train, motorised zonal ink keys'], ['Dampening', 'Continuous integrated dampening'], ['Registration', 'Inline camera + densitometer'], ['Delivery', 'Chain gripper, IR dryer, anti-set-off powder'], ['Feeder', 'Pneumatic stream feeder'], ['Drive', 'Inverter AC main motor, line shaft'], ], body: '## Overview

A sheet-fed offset press is the workhorse of commercial print: it lays four process colors onto cut sheets to produce brochures, packaging, books, and folding-carton blanks at thousands of sheets an hour. It is lithographic — the image and non-image areas sit on the same plate plane and separate chemically by oil and water — and offset, because the inked image transfers first to a rubber blanket and only then to the paper. This machine has four printing units, one each for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, mounted on a rigid cast-iron Main Frame.

How it works

The Feeder Unit lifts and separates sheets from the pile with a pneumatic suction head, then forwards each one down the feed board to front and side lays that square it precisely before it enters the first unit. The Main Drive turns a line shaft that keeps all four units in register through the run.

Each printing unit — Printing Unit (Cyan) and the magenta, yellow, and black units behind it — carries three cylinders: a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder, and an impression cylinder. The inking unit's roller train meters ink through motorised zonal keys and applies it to the plate, while the dampening unit wets the non-image areas so they reject ink. The plate transfers its image to the blanket, and the impression cylinder presses the sheet against the blanket to print it.

Printed sheets pass to the Delivery Unit, where a gripper chain carries them over an IR dryer, an anti-set-off powder spray dusts the wet ink, and joggers square the stack. The Registration & Control reads register marks and color-bar density inline and corrects color register, while the operator runs ink keys and the job from the Operator Console.', },

'palletizer': { specs: [ ['Machine type', '4-axis robotic palletizing cell'], ['Robot axes', '4 (J1 waist, J2/J3 arms, J4 wrist)'], ['Payload', 'Up to 160 kg at the tool'], ['Throughput', 'Up to 1,200 cases/hour'], ['Reach', 'Up to 3,150 mm horizontal'], ['Stack height', 'Up to 2,400 mm'], ['End effector', 'Vacuum + side-clamp layer gripper'], ['Pallet handling', 'Automatic destacking magazine'], ['Slip sheets', 'Vacuum-pick interlayer placement'], ['Feedback', 'Absolute encoders per axis'], ['Safety', 'Fenced cell, muting light curtains'], ['Control', 'Robot controller + cell PLC + pendant'], ['Reducers', 'RV / harmonic precision gearing'], ], body: '## Overview

A robotic palletizer is the end of a packaging line: it takes finished cases off a conveyor and stacks them onto pallets in a programmed pattern, ready to wrap and ship. This cell is built around a four-axis palletizing robot — a parallel-link arm whose linkage keeps the tool level through its whole reach, so it lifts and sets cases flat without a powered wrist tilt. A single cell can build mixed layer patterns, insert slip sheets, and feed its own empty pallets, replacing a row of manual stackers.

The cell is fenced and controlled from the Control Cabinet, which houses the robot controller, axis servo drives, and the sequencing PLC, and tied together by the Cell Wiring Harness harness and its energy-chain dress pack.

How it works

Cases arrive on the Infeed Conveyor, which orients each case and stages them into a full pick row at the row former. The 4-Axis Palletizing Robot then reaches in with the End-of-Arm Tool — a combined vacuum and side-clamp gripper — to lift the whole row at once and set it onto the pallet in the next pattern position. Each joint of the arm is a Joint Actuator: an AC servo motor through a high-ratio RV reducer with an absolute encoder and a fail-safe holding brake that locks the axis on power loss.

The Pallet Dispenser destacks empty pallets one at a time from a magazine to the build position, and between case layers the Slip-Sheet Dispenser vacuum-picks a fibreboard sheet and lays it down for stability.

Because the arm moves heavy loads fast, the Safety System fences the cell with welded mesh, mutes its light curtains to pass pallets while still stopping for personnel, and interlocks the access doors into the safe-stop circuit.', },

'shrink-wrap-machine': { specs: [ ['Machine type', 'Automatic L-bar sealer + shrink tunnel'], ['Film type', 'Centre-fold polyolefin (POF)'], ['Film thickness', '12–30 µm (1.5–2 mil)'], ['Throughput', 'Up to 30 packs/min'], ['Max seal size', '450 × 600 mm (L × W)'], ['Max product height', 'Up to 180 mm'], ['Seal method', 'Hot-wire L-bar, simultaneous seal/cut'], ['Tunnel temperature', 'Up to 230 °C, recirculating hot air'], ['Tunnel conveyor', 'Stainless wire-mesh belt'], ['Temperature control', 'Type-K thermocouple, PID'], ['Film venting', 'Pin perforation for shrink air escape'], ['Conveyor speed', 'Variable, to 12 m/min'], ['Installed power', '6–12 kW (tunnel-dominated)'], ], body: '## Overview

A shrink wrap machine encloses a product in plastic film and heats it until the film shrinks to a tight, glossy skin. This is an automatic two-stage system: an L-bar sealer wraps the product in centre-fold polyolefin film and seals it into a loose bag in one stroke, then a hot-air shrink tunnel pulls the film tight around the product. It is used for retail multipacks, printed cartons, software boxes, and any product that needs a clean, tamper-evident wrap.

The stations mount on a welded Frame & Cabinet on casters, and the Control Panel holds seal time, tunnel temperature, and conveyor speed on a touchscreen with PID control off tunnel thermocouples.

How it works

The Film Supply carries the centre-fold film roll, unwinds it under dancer tension, opens the fold over the product with a triangular plow, and perforates it so trapped air can escape during shrinking. The Infeed Conveyor then carries the product into the open film and onto the flat seal table.

At the seal table, the L-Bar Sealer drops a pivoting L-shaped hot wire that seals and cuts two film edges at once — the leading edge and the open side — leaving the product in a closed film bag and severing it from the web. A low-voltage sealing transformer drives the wire, and Teflon tape keeps molten film from sticking. The trimmed film matrix is wound away by the Scrap Rewind spindle.

The bagged product rides into the Shrink Tunnel, an insulated chamber where heaters and recirculation blowers blow hot air across all sides through a stainless mesh conveyor, shrinking the loose film to a tight skin in seconds. The Exhaust Hood hood vents hot air and film fumes from the tunnel exit.