Machine Overview
C J Waterhouse Company were approached by a food additive manufacturer to develop a bespoke machine to take two sachet streams directly from a form, fill and seal machine, count and layer them into boxes and cut the stream when the required number of sachets is achieved.
The resultant machine is positioned at the end of the clients existing production line and provides fully automated operation of a process which was previously completed by hand.
Stream Feed System
The sachet sream is fed directly into a buffer hopper which monitors the incoming stream tension and level to automatically adjust the downstream feed system. The stream then passes through a guide and over a drive assembly which draws the stream out of the feed hopper.
Stream Tensioning
The sachet stream then passes through a system which maintains the stream tension and provides automated control of the in-feed system. Tensioning is achieved via a monitored dancer bar arrangement which raises under tension and lowers under gravity when tension is reduced.
When the dancer bar raises to its upper position the drive wheel is activated and continues for a pre-determined time period therefore reducing the stream tension and lowering the dancer bar.
Stream Dosing & Cutting
The sachet stream passes through a series of guides then to the dosing system which comprises of a pair of counter rotating feed wheels driven by a single variable speed encoded motor. This provides a controlled feed rate in direct relation to the layering system. Upon reaching the desired sachet count a pneumatically operated blade is activated which cuts the stream horizontally along the existing perforation line.
Box Filling System
The sachet stream is layered into the box via a swinging chute assembly driven by a linear electric cylinder with an encoder drive providing highly accurate positioning and permitting speed matching with the dosing system.
The boxes reside upon a moving carriage system, as the chute swings across the box the carriage moves backward and forwards to create evenly distributed layers.
The height of the sachet layer is monitored via a laser level detection system. As the box fills the carriage is automatically lowered to maintain a specific distance between the filling spout and the sachet layer.
For information on our bespoke system development or our standard range of materials handling solutions please visit us at www.cjwaterhouse.co.uk or call us on +44 (0) 1636 610792.
