It is a proven concept that higher quality adhesive technologies enable better optimization of case and carton sealing production lines. Another option for finding cost savings is a review of your shipping case structure and evaluation of reinforcement technologies to reduce package weight and size or configuration.

Some examples of these calculators can be found at:
www.hbfuller.com/web-app
www.nordson.com/en-us/divisions/adhesive-dispensing/support/TechSupport/Pages/Calculators.aspx

Packaging materials that are designed for optimum performance and superior protection for packaged products serve an important purpose. They protect products and prevent damage that would have far greater negative impacts on the environment than appropriate packaging ever would. Consider making your decisions after you have investigated the entire life cycle of the product to be packaged.

For a typical double-acting cylinder, the PLC outputs a 24 VDC signal to a solenoid valve to tell the cylinder to move to extend. Once fully extended, the sensor will give an input back to the PLC that it has reached the target position. A second signal from the PLC will tell the cylinder to retract, with another signal from a sensor confirming the movement is complete.

This could all be done with a servo actuator as well. The servo/stepper drives can be configured so that when an input 1 comes on, the actuator moves to position 1, and then when input 2 comes on, it will move to position 2, and so on. When the actuator reaches the desired position, the servo/stepper drives can signal to the PLC it has reached the position. All the motion profiles will all be stored in the servo/stepper drives. With the introduction of a few handshaking signal and the existing valve signals, the PLC would be able to easily control the actuator with minor programming changes.

Whether the incremental improvement is worth the effort will depend a lot on what the user is trying to accomplish. For instance, if the machine is going to have to run products of various sizes and configurations, adding flexibility that servo/stepper drives could bring would be highly desirable. If there was a desire to reduce air consumption or even eliminate the need for a compressor this again could be well worth the effort.

Servo control also permits finer control, as the servo actuators are able to be controlled more accurately than a simple two-position pneumatic actuator. What this does in a filling application is that it can result in more accurate fills, thereby reducing costs by eliminating wasted materials.

In a packaging application, this means reduced changeover time and more accurate movements during, say, case packing and palletizing. The reduced changeover time brings added flexibility to the machine, maximizing the machine’s productivity.

As with all solutions depending on the application needs there can be disadvantages by going to an all-servo-controlled system. A servo-controlled system will have a higher initial cost than a simple two-position pneumatic type system. If there is no air for the machine and vacuum is required–for picking up slip sheets or grabbing case flaps, for example–then the initial and operating costs of a vacuum pump must now be considered, as opposed to a low-cost vacuum generator.

Another disadvantage to a servo system specific to a juice line is the environment. A juice line is a food environment and tends to be sticky. Electric actuators are not as well suited for food-grade and/or washdown environments as a pneumatic system, which can have the electronics put into a nearby cabinet. The electric actuators may also need to be food grade, and there is not that large of a supplier base for these actuators, limiting the number of choices.

However, if you don’t want to be so stringent, then you will have to try different types of ribbons. With a thermal transfer printer, you have a choice of wax, wax resin or resin only. Additionally, you might want to try different label materials: high gloss with a spot UV, high gloss with full UV, high gloss with polypropylene lamination or high gloss with thermal transfer treated lamination. You can also try materials with thermal transfer UV or aqueous varnishes.

Packaging companies like Sealed Air offer packaging design and testing capabilities to ensure that you have the most optimized packaging solution available—providing required protection with the minimum amount of materials. Adequate testing that reflects actual distribution environments is the best way to make sure your products are properly protected with the latest and most sustainable materials.

Sometimes it is also necessary to modify certain screen values or colors that we may have some issues with on press. However, this will not affect what your finished product will look like. These alterations just make it easier for us to achieve a nice print job while meeting the customer’s expectations.

Please avoid Photoshop unless it is for special effects. We can print from a Photoshop file, but we cannot control print quality.

Never set black type in CMYK. If you have 4 point type, it makes it awfully hard to register four colors. Good printers will know how to work the files to get rich black letters while maintaining open screens on a process job.

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The correct sizing of compressed air preparation equipment should generally be carried out on the basis of the following criteria: Quality, Quantity and Pressure.

Also consider these fundamentals:

- Air quality should only be as good as necessary.

- Lubricate the air only when absolutely needed (that is, air motors or very fast cycling and/or long stroke cylinders) and then as close as possible to the load device.

- When possible, use module joiners to match units of different sizes in air prep component families to save space and cost of these and to increase productivity

- The pressure dew point of the compressed air must be at least 3-deg C lower than the ambient air to prevent the formation of ice in the expanding air.

Quality:
Consult the ISO 8573-1:2010 standard to determine what quality levels you need for the accurate selection of filtration and/or drying components. It is especially important to define air quality classes in cases involving requirements for finely filtered or/and low dew points.

Quantity:
To define an adequate flow rate of the air prep components, consider the type and number of load devices and their necessary working pressure requirements. After summing up the total required flow and allowing for possible leakage and a certain safety factor, you can now select the required components based on the flow values provided by the equipment manufacturer.

Note:
- When using air dryers, pay particular attention that flow rates also depend on the dew point to be achieved.
- Consider the use of flow sensors; blocked filters are costly and are often remain unnoticed for some time.

Pressure:
Over/under pressurization is expensive and can quickly damage a system and it’s components. Pressure regulators must be set only to the level required, regardless of flow variations, for the proper functioning of the load devices. In order to ensure the correct pressure is present at the load devices, allowance must be made for pressure drops in long airlines, their routing and the dimensioning of the fittings and tubing in addition to the various air preparation devices used, especially filters.

Consider using dual pressures for larger air actuators to save on air consumption and pressure boosters close to a specific load device instead of oversizing an entire system to accomodate only one or two operations.

Metal is an economically valuable commodity for Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs). Because food and beverage cans enjoy the highest recycling rates of all consumer packages in the United States, recycling acceptance of metal does not seem to be a problem. In fact, of all the steel and aluminum ever produced, 75 percent of aluminum and between 80 and 90 percent of steel is still in use today.

Of course, we are fully invested in the collection and return of all steel and aluminum, and can-makers fund many recycling education programs to share accurate information about metal recycling. It is my hope that these efforts and the true story about the endless recyclability of metal will correct any misperceptions and help all recycling stakeholders optimize collection and recycling rates.

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