Available Accessories and Conversions for SMI Packaging Machines

By: Packaging Industry

There are various accessories and conversion modules available for SMI packaging machines.

1. TLESPACK - Tray Less Stacked Pack

The TLESPACK ® is an accessory device which allows to pack cans on two layers, without inserting any pad or tray in between. To be able to be superimposed steadily one upon another, cans must be of the "fit-in" type, a.k.a. "nesting" type.

The SMI TLESPACK system can be installed at the inlet of SK shrinkwrappers, MP cardboard sleeve multipackers, WP wrap-around casepackers and CM combined machines and consists in two infeed conveyor belts running one above the other on two levels. Thanks to a thin transfer plate, cans carried by the upper conveyor easily place themselves upon those running on the lower conveyor, forming a double-layered cluster.

In the pack formation section of the packaging machine, stacked cans are grouped in the required collation and then packed as follows:

- film only (SK series);

- film only plus a corrugated cardboard pad at the bottom of the pack (SK and CM packaging machines series);

- film only plus a corrugated cardboard tray at the bottom of the pack (SK and CM packaging machine series);

- overwrapping cardboard sleeve (MP packaging machine series);

- corrugated cardboard closed box (WP and CM packaging machines series).

The TLESPACK device runs at a top rate of 60 packs per minute. The main advantages of this system are: the cost reduction in the packaging materials, thanks to the possibility to pack in film only a high number of cans, without putting cardboard separators in between the two layers; the easiness in the manual carriage and in the storage of the finished packs, thanks to their compactness and the possibility to apply a handle upon them; the vast range of packages realizable, thanks to the TLESPACK's wide flexibility.

2. PID SBP - Partition Inserting Device - Stretched Board Pre-assembled Partitions

The PID SBP® inserts stretched board pre-assembled partitions into cardboard boxes, in order to protect fragile products, such as glass containers, from damages or breakages and to save their labels from possible abrasions. This accessory device can be assembled on WP series' wrap-around case packers and can run at a top speed of 45 packs per minute.

The PID SBP and its partition magazine are to be situated at the machine inlet, above the pack formation area. While containers are laned into single parallel rows, the partition inserting device's two-axis arm equipped with suckers picks a stretched board pre-assembled partition from the partition magazine, opens it and lowers it between the products, before they move into the pack collation section. In the next phase, products are grouped in the required pattern and then packed into a wrap-around cardboard box.

Compared to the traditional inserting systems of non-preassembled partitions, the PID SBP from SMI allows to:

- lower the purchasing cost of the partitions by about 20% and their storage volume by at least 60%;

- have a more compact machine, since both the partition magazine and the Partition Inserting Device are mounted on top of the machine; in this way, machine dimensions are the same as those of a conventional casepacker;

- speed up the partition insertion operation and the loading times of the relevant magazine, since partitions are already pre-assembled;

- reduce the sensitivity of partitions to humidity and climate changes.

3. RD Rotodividers for SMI Packaging Machines

The rotodividers of the RD series are used to turn and translate and / or distribute on multiple lanes packs formed by a SMI cardboard sleeve multipacker. Presently two models are available:

RD-S: semiautomatic mechanical rotodivider, which allows to turn and translate / distribute the packs in order to get simple patterns at the end of the process.

RD-A: automatic electronic rotodivider, which allows to turn and translate / distribute the packs in order to get both simple and complex patterns at the end of the process.

Both models run at an inlet top speed of 300 packs per minute.

Article Source: http://www.fillingandpackaging.com

For more information about SMI packer upgrades and conversions contact SMI at www.smigroup.it