It is often pointed out that in most carton plants the gluing department is the last line of defence. It is here that any products which will not meet the customers’ quality criteria have to be stopped, regardless of whether the problem originated in the board mill, the print department or in finishing. After the gluers, the product is normally straight onto a pallet and out of the plant, on its way to the customer. While extensive quality assurance checks are now commonplace throughout carton plants, it seems that the gluing department is home to more manual and automatic systems than any other. Many plants augment glue line detection equipment with code readers, metal detectors and more, in an attempt to beat the spectre of a whole job being rejected. An increasing problem for carton makers is proving their innocence when a job is returned, especially if, for example, the complaint is of rogue cartons being present in the delivery. Such cartons can enter the production stream anywhere, but it is generally the carton maker that will take the rap.
Knowing the background and experience of Baumer hhs in the field of gluing and detection systems, Alexir Packaging approached the company with a view to developing a system that would reduce or prevent such claims, without compromising production speeds. The result was a new data collection feature on the highly successful Baumer hhs Xtend system, one which allows the system to operate at 300 metres per minute or more.
Using a code printed on the inside of the glue flap, the system carries out the download and storage of the codes in use, the input parameters for the job entered by the operator and the ongoing operating conditions such as the number of cartons run, the number of ejections, whether code reading was on or off, etc,. The raw data, saved as a text file, downloads from the Xtend system to a PC, via a serial or USB connection, and if that PC is networked the data can be read from elsewhere in the plant, or indeed from anywhere in the world.
Fail safe
A new development such as this only works because every Baumer hhs system works on the “Fail Safe” principle. This requires every carton run down the line to prove itself to be correct, by meeting all the predefined verification criteria. The Baumer hhs approach is that every carton must positively pass every test, whether it be glue detection, code detection, metal detection or whatever else is active on the system. In effect every carton going down the line is considered to be ‘guilty’ of being a bad carton until it proves itself ‘innocent’.
The successful implementation of this new data collection facility for the Xtend resulted in Alexir packaging ordering three such QA units and a gluing system. The systems also feature some equipment new to the Xtend range and some enhancements to existing modules.
One additional feature added to the tracking and ejection module on the Xtend system is the facility to kick the carton towards the ejector, rather than away from it. This is particularly useful where the size of the glue flap means that the folded edge is running very close to the belt edge. Kicking towards the ejector gives it additional carton to grab and so aids removal.
As part of its drive to continually improve operator ergonomics, the touch screen driven software running the Xtend system has a new interface making set up both quicker and easier and allowing the diagnosis of ejection errors by a single touch of the screen.
Carton makers work within a constantly changing environment. The approach with Alexir reflects the Baumer hhs philosophy that all innovation starts with an exchange of ideas, which in turn helps craft new and innovative solutions.
May 2007
