Report by Fabio Perini’s Giuseppe Alberti, sales manager packaging, Massimo Grandi, regional sales director north, south west Europe and Italy, and Eros Burelli, marketing product manager for packaging equipment
A world first automatic trolley changeover on the Carbon-T wrapper, and extensive research to develop integrated level A paper replacements for plastic are helping to maintain Fabio Perini’s place at the forefront of tissue technology.
Under the Casmatic brand, the Carbon-T wrapper can be considered as the latest generation of packaging technology based on the Industry 4.0 concept. Its performance demonstrates the many cutting-edge technological innovations used in its design and manufacture.
The use of a large number of carbon fibre components allows the packaging machine to reduce the weight of the moving parts and consequently minimises the sizes of the main motors. Additionally, all the brushless motors used are energy saving to minimise energy consumption.
The introduction of the patented Trolley One Touch system has made the Carbon-T wrapper the first packaging machine in the world equipped with an advanced outfeed drive complete with automatic trolley changeover.
It automatically replaces the number of trolleys needed for each format, avoiding the need for technicians to enter the machine to carry out the necessary operations to change the format. In addition to significant time savings, it also reduces the residual risk on the operators’ daily work.
A technology that does not require experienced operators, so even technicians with reduced skills can easily perform format changeovers. Thanks to the new outfeed trailer, it has also been possible to develop a new software that optimises the comb stroke according to the desired format and consequently has a positive effect on the quality of the side folds.
To make the operator’s work even easier, the Carbon-T is also equipped with a new product support (Backplate) with continuous and automatic adjustment that does not need to be replaced and with a new magnetic retention elevator plate that can be easily replaced without using any tools.
As a result, overall operations and maintenance have become much easier when compared to conventional packaging machines; there is a consistent decrease in format changeover times, which results in a general improvement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
Technology hasn’t been the only topic that Fabio Perini has being taking care of. Sustainability has also played a key role in the company’s recent investments.
The continuous search for alternative materials to plastic has led us to collaborate with uppliers in different geographical areas, finding and developing some of the materials that meet the world’s sustainability needs.
Casmatic wrappers can produce packaging using level A (certified recyclable) papers, i.e. those papers that meet the three main requirements of the paper industry:
• allow pulp production at the paper mill under standard conditions;
• allow the formation of the sheet without touching the metal parts;
• contain minimum quantities of contaminants to reduce their impact on the papermaking process or wrap with paper that fully supports compostability requirements, certified by the most advanced certification bodies in the industry.
In addition to giving an important environmental impact, the aim of this research was to look for papers that would allow, with a minimum adaptation on packaging machines, to maintain the current performance, thus giving our customers versatile and performing machines without having to economically absorb a change of direction that the whole system requires.
In response to the continuous market demand for ecological packaging, Fabio Perini has recently developed the Biopack Full Kit for its Carbon-T packaging machine.
It has been designed to allow the packaging of toilet rolls and kitchen towels with ecological packaging material, without compromising production performance and the quality of the finished product. Thanks to the optional Kit, it will be possible to achieve the same performance regardless of the packaging material, whether it is polyethylene or laminated kraft paper.
The Biopack Full Kit includes:
• new self-centering shaft less unwinder reel that supports the reel from its central axis – an upper belt transmits the movement to the reel and allows it to unwind;
• flat longitudinal sealer designed to work with kraft paper laminated to eco-plastic materials or with pre-coated glues. Thanks to its quick and plug-in connector, changing the longitudinal sealer is extremely easy and fast, allowing us to change the packaging material (from poly to kraft paper) in a few minutes;
• modified side sealing to allow for
greater temperature control and increase the contact time of the package with the sealing plates. The new sealing exit allows obtaining resistant seals with both polyethylene and laminated papers.
Listening to customers’ needs, paying attention to market trends, investing in research and development and taking care of sustainability and environmental impact have been the key elements to strengthen Fabio Perini’s position in the tissue packaging market.
This article was written for TWM by Fabio Perini’s Giuseppe Alberti, sales manager packaging, Massimo Grandi, regional sales director north, south west Europe and Italy, and Eros Burelli, marketing product manager for packaging equipment.
