HERMA 400 applicators integrated in packaging line

A Canadian cookie manufacturer is using six HERMA 400 label applicators to overcome the challenge of applying exceptionally large sealing and product labels with the utmost precision and efficiency. The company appointed IPS International Packaging Systems GmbH of Crailsheim in Germany, a Schubert Group company, to design and commission a new cookie packaging line for its plant. The target was to automate production and as far as possible to allow uninterrupted operation. A key component of the plant is a case packer, which packs and labels the biscuits before placing them in shipping cases. In this connection, IPS was asked to devise a solution for labelling the cookies in clamshell packs. The labels serve the purpose of ensuring that the packs remain closed. Since there is no secondary packaging for the cookies, perfect positioning of the labels is likewise important in the interests of good visual appeal. Given the reputation of the HERMA 400 series for tremendous flexibility in a variety of environments and labelling tasks, IPS placed its trust in the labelling expert HERMA in a collaborative venture with its own parent company, Gerhard Schubert GmbH, which specialises in packaging machines. Design modifications had to be made to accommodate three label positions – on the top, front face and bottom – label lengths of 240 and 290 mm and widths of 69 and 89 mm, as well as three different clamshell formats. "Positioning the labels required us to use the know-how we have acquired beyond standard applications," explains HERMA project leader Michael Kürner. "We have therefore developed a technically sophisticated solution based on servo-driven vacuum belts that are capable of applying the long labels with millimetre accuracy and without any creases. It enables us to achieve excellent precision." First, the clamshells are recorded by a reflected light scanner, turned over by a four-axis robot, and fed to the applicator conveyor belts. Belt speed, lateral and overhead guide positioning, and the label dispensing position are stored in the program that controls the line, separately for each format. Like the engineering, the method of connecting the applicators to the higher-level Schubert control was developed specifically for this application. The integrated solution, comprising three simultaneously operating applicators and three standby devices, which are activated in case of malfunctions or label shortfalls, can process more than 140 clamshell packs per minute. "We are highly satisfied with the support provided by HERMA with commissioning, the training programme in Canada, and system optimisation," comments IPS project leader Thomas Niever. "The performance and labelling accuracy targets have been fully met with all formats."