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Thermoforming: German processor commercial with IML packaging
Using machinery supplier by Italy’s OMV, German processor Bartling GmbH is thermoforming and inmold labeling PP food containers in what is one of the first commercial IML thermoformed projects. Bartling is a family-owned processor of food packaging with more than 250 employees.
PlasticsToday Staff
October 6, 2009
3 Min Read
.svg?width=850&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale "Thermoforming: German processor commercial with IML packaging")
Using machinery supplier by Italy’s OMV, German processor Bartling GmbH is thermoforming and inmold labeling PP food containers in what is one of the first commercial IML thermoformed projects. Bartling is a family-owned processor of food packaging with more than 250 employees.
OMV Marketing Manager Alfredo Banfi told MPW that the processor uses two OMV F25 thermoforming machines, plus the company’s own "Label-Robot-Handling-System” inmold labeling (IML) system, for processing and labeling of the 500g rectangular polypropylene (PP) containers.
OMV’s IML system is positioned next to one of its thermoformers. The F25https://www.plasticstoday.com/5 is OMV’s third generation of one of its stalwart machine ranges, first introduced more than 30 years ago. The newest iteration is a fully automatic, electro-mechanically driven thermoformer with inmold trim. According to OMV, the flexibility of the machine made it appropriate to be the basis for the company’s IML system, but the IML system also can be used with the company’s other lines.
During processing, a robot grabs labels from a two-station buffer magazine, separates them, and centers and forms the labels in a forming station. When the first magazine is empty, the second buffer is used while the first is refilled.
After pre-forming and being given a static charge in the forming station, the robot then inserts the labels into the cavities of the thermoforming tool; labels are held in place in the tool’s cavities with the help of electrostatic charge. After the containers are formed, the robot then unloads the labeled packaging onto a conveyor belt, located between the forming station and the upper heating oven, which transports the labeled products to a stacking and counting unit positioned on the side of the thermoforming station. Only one operator is necessary for running the machine and packing the finished products, reports OMV, and the IML unit works with round and rectangular containers.
The IML robot comes with two servomotor-driven axes. The x-axis is also equipped with a cam gearbox with shock- and vibration-free movement. The vertical inserting arms on the z-axis are made from carbon fiber in order to avoid expansion from heat. The movement is driven through a pneumatic piston with dynamic damping elements to avoid shocks.
OMV predicts that IML use in thermoforming will grow as its advantages over injection molded packaging are realized. These advantages can include the lower investment in molds and robots compared with injection, faster cycle times, the lower cost of labels due to the possibility of reel use, and the potential for lower-weight packaging and consequent material savings.
Lids in this project are formed from pre-printed sheet. To ensure that the decorated part of the sheet and the thermoforming mold cavities match up, OMV integrated in its thermoforming machines an optical Qhttps://www.plasticstoday.com/A camera to control the sheet index. The electronic eye detects a registration mark that is printed on the plastic sheet, and interacts with the sheet index drive to stop the decorated part in the proper position inside the mold. In this way the lid can be decorated across its entire surface and not only on its flat central area as with IML. —[email protected]
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