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How to optimize reel production with a custom automatic packaging line

Packaging Systems | Andrea Ruggiero, 30 March 2021

Increase in production capacity and efficiency, cost reduction, higher product quality: these are the main objectives that have contributed to the spread of automation systems in paper, Tissue and nonwovens industries.

The market has been the protagonist, in recent decades, of a growing demand for increasingly high-performance solutions capable of automatically managing the various stages of the production process, reel handling and packaging included. We have already talked about the advantages of using robots for the automatic preparation and packaging of reel bundles and the countless possibilities offered in terms of time, space and cost optimization. However, each company, plant and production process has specific characteristics that cannot be ignored in view of the goal of maximum efficiency, reliability and quality.

The ability to design customized solutions based the needs of your company guarantees the maximum performance of the means and resources used and this represents one of the keys to business growth.

The company that is evaluating an automatic solution may wonder what are the real advantages of an automatic packaging system compared to a manual or semi-automatic system, what is the level of customization that can be requested or what are the factors to be considered when choosing the best solution for your needs. Let's see what the answers to these questions are in the next paragraphs.

The customized automatic packaging line: main features

An automatic packaging system can be differentiated by:

  • The level of automation: it is possible to automate some or all of the reel management and packaging processes (eg. labeling, bundle composition, application of cardboard discs and plastic coating films and the eventual palletization).
  • Type of robot used, if any: they can be mainly Cartesian or anthropomorphic. Furthermore, robot grippers can be customized to accommodate the shape or size of the reels and packs to be picked up, wrapped and handled.
  • Possibility of managing multiple production lines at the same time with a single packaging line.
  • Footprint.
  • Possibility of completing the solution with advanced automatic systems such as, for example, the Label Verification System.
  • Possible integration with other systems or machinery: it is possible to design an automatic packaging system able to integrate, for example, with Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV), ERP softwares, reel defect tracking systems implemented in the production line (such as A.Celli DMS), labeling and wrapping systems and, in general, all the devices necessary to meet the needs of a specific production.

Therefore, the range and levels of customization of an automatic packaging system are varied and it is essential to choose the solution that suits your needs taking into consideration various factors.

First of all, the most important one is the sizing. The packaging system must be able to manage the flow of products coming out of the production line without creating bottlenecks and slowing down the upstream processes. At the same time it is necessary to optimize the packaging line design to avoid oversizing compared to the actual production capacities.

The appropriate sizing is followed by other factors such as speed, flexibility and integration of the line with accessory systems, but also interface software for programming the packaging cycle, which must have a wide range of parameterization and customization.

The benefits of a customized automatic packaging system

A customized automatic packaging system designed together with the customer in a spirit of partnership ensures that the final characteristics of the solution provided respond effectively and efficiently to the different and specific production needs.

In detail, the main advantages offered are

  • Greater efficiency in the organization of spaces and working times.
  • Better coordination of equipment and materials and better use of resources.
  • Greater flexibility and modularity of the plant: productions, especially the intensive and diversified ones, require the ability to make rapid changes to the product handling and packaging processes. The automatic packaging line must be able to manage, if necessary, various production lines and different product formats according to need, thanks to the use of intelligent grippers and integration with customers' ERPs.
  • User-friendliness.

A customized automatic packaging system, to ensure the high performance that we have listed, must also be made with high-level materials and components and developed by experts able to understand the customer's needs and translate them into a project perfectly in line with their needs and expectations. Therefore, the choice of the supplier to rely on is fundamental.

A.Celli, with its R-WAY® Automatic Packaging System, is able to provide you with a modular, flexible and customizable solution for managing the entire packaging process of finished rolls, adaptable to any layout and any production line. All this without considering the possibility of integrating your automatic packaging system with the customer's ERP in order to eliminate the possibility of errors in the composition of the bundles. 

Last but not least, it is possible to request the implementation of our A.Celli iReel, a solution dedicated to the tracking and archiving of data and the characteristics of the reels for the certification of their quality and of that relating to the value creation chain.

Conclusions

Today, in a production logic increasingly oriented towards just in time and the customization of the products offered, it is necessary to have automated, flexible and reliable solutions capable of optimizing processes, costs and order processing times. Each phase of the production process, including reel handling and packaging, contributes to the achievement of these objectives and none of them should be underestimated.

If you would like more information on how to optimize reel production by adopting an automatic packaging system download our free eBook “The ultimate guide to Automatic Reel Packaging"!

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