Horizontal bagger SPrints to launch

ALTHOUGH the first public showing of Automated Packaging Systems' bagging machine is earmarked for Pakex 2001, the Malvern-based company could not wait until April to publicise its launch. So the Autobag SPrint was unveiled at the showroom of its 36,000 square foot purpose-built facility constructed three years ago.

ALTHOUGH the first public showing of Automated Packaging Systems' bagging machine is earmarked for Pakex 2001, the Malvern-based company could not wait until April to publicise its launch. So the Autobag SPrint was unveiled at the showroom of its 36,000 square foot purpose-built facility constructed three years ago. Designed for what is described as the 'niche' market of semi-automatic bagging operations, products, such as assorted plumbing fittings or electrical components, are gathered as a 'kit' and then packed together in one bag. Departing from Autobag's familiar vertical bagging machine format, the SPrint features a horizontal bag feed system that allows a wider pack-loading station and hence space for a number of operators. In operation, pre-formed fan-folded sealed bags (specially made by Autobag to accompany its own machines in a total productivity package) are taken from a box container and arranged to feed over rollers to a horizontal conveying system for preparation. A pair of male/female poly-belts, formed as a continuous loop to guide the bags through the system, first grip the top of the joined bags to hold them individually. The tops of the bags are then slit open by a knife before another guillotine synchronously separates the bags at their vertical welded seam. The poly-belts then move apart, allowing the opening of the bag mouth via a perforation at the top of the bag which breaks to form a consistent rectangular-shaped opening. An air purge ensures the bag is fully inflated before the individual bag reaches the loading station where operators load the bag with the required number of different components. After filling, the belts converge to pinch the bag mouth closed before excess carrier material, just below the perforation line, is trimmed and gathered for recycling. Finally the top of the bag is hot-air sealed in a chamber. Operating at speeds up to 120 bags/minute, believed by the company to be the fastest bagging machine of its kind, the bag feed system can be adjusted to work in intermittent or continuous operation, at speeds appropriate for the duty and the number of operators allocated to the line.