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Product category: General packaging materials, equipment and services
News Release from: Cyklop UK | Subject: Automated packaging system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial Team on 31 October 2006

Automated packaging system saves time

A decorative laminate worktops producer has moved away from manual pallet strapping to an automated system that saves time, money and manpower.

As packaging becomes an increasingly important component in the production process, more and more companies are seeking to update their methods and machinery in a bid to improve productivity and implement more cost effective ways of working One such company is Formica, where the ever-growing popularity and increasing demand for its decorative laminate worktops prompted this manufacturer to look for new ways to speed up packaging at its factory in Newcastle

It wanted to move away from manual pallet strapping to a fully automated system that would save time, money and manpower.

But that was not as easy as it sounds: pallets of Formica sheets weigh anything from 750-1000kg and are 2m long and 1.2m wide, necessitating a heavy duty conveyor system that could handle the weight; whilst keeping them tightly secured during transit throughout the distribution process would require a strapping system to meet the demanding requirements at Formica.

Formica contacted Cyklop UK, the Cambridgeshire,UK-based manufacturer of strapping, stretch wrapping, binding and taping equipment, and asked them to design a system that could meet its needs.

An additional constraint was the limited space available for packaging at the Formica factory in which the fully automated new system would have to fit.

Cyklop came up with a system that comprised a five-piece conveyor fitted with a strap feed head (Cyklop's CFH1).

Its modular XP 111 MVB system enables a Formica pallet to be loaded by fork lift truck at one end, and this is then conveyed to the required strapping positions where the automatic strapping process is triggered.

Whilst this is taking place other pallets can be loaded onto the conveyor so that up to four are being processed at the same time.

At the end of the conveyor the pallet is removed by forklift truck and taken to storage or to the loading bay.

The fully automated CFH1 strapping head manufactured by Cyklop moves into position above the pallet to begin the 6.5s strapping cycle.

Each strap (the process is repeated four times on each load) is guided around the load by the strap track and stretched at an optimised tension.

When this has been done the head, which is capable of tensioning up to 5500N, applies a smoke-free welded joint that secures the strap at the applied tension.

Because of the space limitation, Cyklop redesigned the modular system with a split lance to maximise the area available: similar systems feed the lance from one side only but this requires considerably more space to perform the operation.

Formica says that packaging productivity has increased dramatically since it introduced the new Cyklop system.

A process that used to involve three to four men who could only manually strap 10 pallets an hour, is now being performed by the new system with one man strapping 20-30 pallets/h.

And it has the capacity to strap 40 pallets /h if required.

Moreover, by switching from the steel banding used in the manual process to the polyester strapping provided with the Cyklop system, Formica has been able to reduce the cost of its strapping consumables by one third per annum.

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