Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News
Magazine
PMPN Article Index
Originally Published September 1999
PRODUCT UPDATE
Cappers Provide Versatility and Control
Cappers offer easy changeover and the ability to handle a range of caps and sizes.
Today's cappers are designed to provide packagers with a great deal of control over their machines. Equipment manufacturers have worked to make changeovers quick and easy, and they have created systems that are very flexible.
Features available on many capping machines include touch screen control, change parts, antirotation systems, cap elevators, vibrating bowls, and inspection for missing or skewed caps.
An automatic chuck capper can achieve very high torques; a clutch adjusts the machine to the exact torque required. Caps are sorted and placed on containers automatically. Different caps and containers can be handled with flexible change parts. The system is easy to clean, requires low maintenance, and connects easily to fillers, labelers, or other machines. Equipment Express, LaPorte, IN.
A continuous-motion rotary capping machine is designed for reliable and accurate high-speed capping or plugging of plastic bottles. Built on a rugged monoblock frame, each unit is custom-built with a mechanical cap sorter, a conveyor belt, a bottle transfer system, and a rotary capping or plugging unit. Each of the four systems is driven by ac motors that are synchronized by an electronic inverter. Kalish, DT Industries Packaging Group, Montreal, QC, Canada.
An automatic in-line capper includes a GMP stainless-steel base, motorized height adjustment, spring-loaded tightening disks, air clutches for torque control, a PLC interface with product memory, remote jog, and no-tool belt adjustment as standard features. The Unicap-150 works well with oval or round containers with screw, snap, or childproof closures. Options include cap elevator, torque monitor, orienter feeding system, adjustable chute and pickup, missing or skewed cap detection, and vibrating bowls for special caps. NJM/CLI Packaging Systems International, Lebanon, NH.
A tool-free container-handling change-part feature can be used on a company's overcapper machines for pharmaceutical applications. The company's handling parts are designed to change over without the use of any tools. The process simplifies changeover for different products on the same production filling line. The company, a manufacturer of fitment and cap assembly systems, designs packaging machinery for aerosol, liquid, and powder filling lines. Haumiller Engineering Co., Elgin, IL.
A manufacturer of liquid filling, capping, and packaging systems offers a dual-purpose rotary capping machine featuring a vision system that enables the machine to apply snap-cap or screw-cap closures. The Capamatic Model RC-400 capping machine provides precise cap orientation and inspection of the container. The quick-change collet-style chuck allows for easy changeover from one cap size to another. National Instrument Company, Inc., Baltimore, MD.
An automatic screw-cap placement system is designed for filling lines for bacteria-sensitive liquids that are packaged in a sterile Class 100 cleanroom environment. The system is positioned very close to where the container is filled. This feature closes the filled container quickly, eliminating its exposure to possible bacterial contamination. Farther down the line, the company installs a cap tightener to apply the correct cap torque to each cap. Changeover to different cap sizes within a cleanroom environment is easy and fast; the process requires two modular change-part assemblies already equipped with location pins for precise alignment. Adtech, Hatboro, PA.
A rotary capper can process a wide variety of cap and container sizes, reaching speeds of 150 caps per minute. The Multicap 8000 offers six rotary heads that are synchronized for exact placement and precise transfer of cap to chuck and container. Features include pneumatic clamping chucks, electronic torque control, and positive cap placement to bottles via a pick-and-place rotary system. Changeovers can be accomplished in 10 minutes. Calibration of clutches and chucks can be accomplished from the touch screen panel. Romaco Inc., Morris Plains, NJ.
A rotary vial capper uses a circular hardened rail section with three graduated angles to perform the sealing function. Three versions of the fully automated RW Westcapper are available. The RW250 incorporates six spindles and is made to accommodate large-diameter vials. It is capable of speeds up to 300 vials per minute. The RW600 incorporates 12 spindles up to 2.25 in. diam and runs at speeds up to 600 vials per minute. The RW18 has 18 spindles for vials up to 1.50 in. diam and runs at speeds up to 700 vials per minute. Genesis Machinery Products, Exton, PA.
A capper provides positive container handling, offers accurate closure torque control, and performs almost any capping process. The TC capper offers a variety of container antirotation mechanisms, allowing it to meet a wide range of packaging requirements. The standard machine features turret pockets to control nonround containers during the capping cycle. For round containers, a gripper belt mechanism can be added for antirotation control. Pneumatic Scale, Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
A company that manufactures filling systems has developed a proprietary means of applying a flanged nasal atomizing spray pump assembly at rates up to 60 items per minute without activating the spray pump in the process. This feature is available on the Model FSseries filling and stoppering machines and can also be adapted to filling, plug inserting, and screw-capping machines. A movable escapement receives the spray cap from a feeder track at one station. At the following station a ram pushes the escapement down, which snaps the spray cap onto the bottle. No force is applied to the spray head. Chase-Logeman Corp., Greensboro, NC.
A series of capping machines can apply caps to a wide variety of products with standard or unusually shaped caps or bottles. The Alpha family of crimpers and cappers can be equipped to handle the following cap styles: screw, child resistant, screw-on pilferproof, snap, j-cap, pump, flip-top, overcap, crimped aluminum, screw aluminum, and many others. The Alpha is designed to handle small containers and caps. An adjustable cap prespin ensures proper thread engagement, with final torquing at an independent station. To cap round containers, a restraining device is included. Capmatic Ltd., Montreal North, QC, Canada.
Cap feed elevators are suitable for pharmaceutical packaging applications. Standard features include a polished stainless-steel inclined elevator bed and chute with polycarbonate covers, a compact 9-cu-ft stainless-steel bin, and an FDA-approved cleated Intralox white polypropylene belt. The Cap-L elevators have a polished stainless-steel tubular frame, illuminated on-off push button, and fully automatic operation. A complete line of elevators is available in several model sizes. Cap-L Company, Inc., Ramsey, NJ.
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