Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News
Magazine
PMPN Article Index
Originally Published September 2000
PRODUCT UPDATE
Enhance Line Efficiency with
PRODUCT-HANDLING EQUIPMENT
Systems increase productivity for conveying, filling, batching, and checkweighing operations.
A series of stainless-steel conveyors is customizable to almost any environment to suit various transport patterns. Designed for pharmaceutical use, the conveyor systems are easy to clean and feature white food-grade PVC or rubber belts that meet FDA and USDA standards. Horizontal-belt, straight-running, or side-flexing flattop chain designs are available. Inclined models equipped with horizontal infeed and discharge sections are also offered. The conveyors come in a wide range of belt widths and bed lengths, as well as in portable and stationary designs with adjustable heights. Options include variable-speed drives, guide rails, and controls. Bilt-Rite Conveyors Inc., Garfield, NJ.
A line shaft conveyor suited for conveying small and difficult-to-handle items offers quiet operation at high speeds. Model 1254 features 1.4-in. galvanized rollers for straight beds and tapered plastic rollers for curves. Available in conveyor widths of 12, 18, and 24 in., Model 1254 can be adapted to existing systems. The unit's central design element is a Series 1600 bearing that allows for lower noise levels during operation and greater load capacity per roller. The bearing also helps to convey lighter and smaller products more effectively. The combination of 1.4-in. rollers and Series 1600 bearings on 1.5-in. centers running at 240 ft/min registers a sound pressure level of 68.6 dBa at a distance of 1 m. Components that are available include curves, crossovers, stops, brakes, junctions, merges, and electronic accumulation with variable zone length. Rapistan Systems, Grand Rapids, MI.
A handling system for knocked-down corrugated cases, wraparound blanks, and multiwall bags is designed for integration with labelers, printers, and other types of identification systems.
Features include a 2.25-in. tubular steel frame with stainless-steel covers; a large-capacity magazine with automatic feed up to 60 units per minute; and printing capability on tops and bottoms (i.e., all four sides in a single pass, or "spot imprint" for filling in information on preprinted boxes). Among the unit's safety features are two centrally located emergency stop controls; automatic shutoff for damaged product; safety covers with electrical interlocks designed for maximum protection; and automatic torque-limiting slip clutch on the main drive. Dalemark Industries Inc., Lakewood, NJ.
A filling system comprising bottle unscrambler, orienter, and labeler machines meets a wide range of applications for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Features of the APS Modulebloc MB-55 system include a fully programmable filling profile; a bottle-feed system with a bulk hopper; positive pick-up and placement of dropper tips with hand-change tooling; a sensor system to detect proper pick-up and placement of dropper tips; an automatic reject system; and filling options in the range of 0.5 to 500 ml. Recipe selection software is also supplied. Automated Production Systems Corp., New Freedom, PA.
Batching- and packaging-equipment solutions are supplied to the pharmaceutical and medical packaging industries. The equipment pictured accepts bulk fasteners and meters them into the infeed of a multihead combination scale, where they are batched and fed to a vertical form-fill-seal bagger or box-filling system. Product-batching equipment includes the patented Batchmaster counter, fast automatic weigher, and multihead combination scale. Bagmaster vertical form-fill-seal packaging equipment and roll baggers, as well as box, blister, and clamshell packaging equipment, integrate with the batching systems to form turnkey solutions. Batching Systems Inc., Owings, MD.
An integrated puck handling and insertion system maximizes the efficiency of packaging lines by reducing changeover, improving response time for new product introductions, cutting change-part cost, and providing in-creased line versatility with its capability to handle containers of any shape. The Omega Model PRP features patented rotating pockets that accommodate plastic, glass, and aerosol containers. System design ensures a 100% fill rate of containers into pucks. Floor space requirements are reduced, because such processes as plastic-container unscrambling, air rinsing, bottom coding, puck alignment, and container insertion can be accomplished on a common frame. Multiple pockets reduce operational speeds, creating optimum handling conditions for delicate container finishes. Fully automatic in-line or rotary depucking equipment and puck return systems are available. Omega Design Corp., Exton, PA.
Capable of changing over a complete product line in 5 minutes or less, a single-point guide-rail adjustment system reduces the fine-tuning required for jams and shingling. The operator turns a handwheel, and all rails of the Pathfinder move simultaneously and continuously, remaining parallel and equidistant from the centerline of the conveyor. The system is designed for channel, extruded aluminum, and case conveyors, and it works on straight sections, alpine accumulation systems, side transfers, and corners of 45°, 90°, and 180°, which change in both length and width. Job changes require no tools or change parts. The patented system, which can be used as a retrofit kit or installed with new conveyor, is based on rack and pinion technology. A series of interconnected gearboxes and driveshaft and rail adjuster units makes up the system. One gearbox can drive up to 40 ft of conveyor. Servomotor systems are available. Marpak Corp., Oldsmar, FL.
A range of linear-drive product- handling units provides a flexible, reusable, and modular platform for light to medium assembly applications. Systems designed for vertical and horizontal movements are available, offering a choice of belt or screw drive and prism, ball, or wheel guide technology. The linear systems are built on extruded, anodized aluminum beams with one or more saddles, a design that provides resistance to bending or torsion and protection of drive mechanisms.
High load-carrying capacities are matched with a compact design envelope. Units are constructed according to customer specifications regarding size, stroke, drive and guide mechanisms, and saddle shaft configuration. FlexLink Systems Inc., Bethlehem, PA.
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