FM060 for Pouch filling of nuts and snacks
German and European market leaders for nuts and dried fruits sector,wanted to bring out selected speciality products the best point-of-sale. The products are considered to be a healthy snack option for in-between meals and are sold in appealing stand-up pouches with resealable press-to-close zipper. The Customer also wanted great flexibility regarding pouch sizes to enable them to produce a range of options, product variety and quantity.
The horizontal working FM 060 series form, fill and seal pouch machine is tailor designed and constructed for this customer Germany. SN supplied the auto-splicer, thermal transfer printer used in the continuous part of the machine, digital displays for side seal position and pressure, easy swivel top seal mechanism for easy maintenance and cleaning: all components are precisely aligned to the needs of the customers. These are quick and easy pouch size change and – as on all SN packaging machines – a very good cleaning possibility is incorporated.
SN developed an auto-splicer unit which reduces the film change and material usage to a minimum. The new film roll is prepared on the cutting and gluing table of the Splicer and automatically inserted into the machine as soon as the material of the current reel runs out. The spliced pouch is detected on the rotary turret and rejected without being filled. The space saving thermal transfer printer positioned at the folding plow, transfers the required information (e.g. the expiry date of the product) in the gusset of the pouch. The zipper is inserted into the pouch and film further advanced to the seal stations.
The fine adjustment of the seal position can be done on the fly and can be visualised by means of a digital display. The sealing jaw pressure gauges are also equipped with digital displays to ensure the accurate reproduction of the seal pressure on the film at machine speed. The high performance heat sealing jaws, made of a special alloy, ensure the perfect temperature distribution across the entire seal surface via sophisticated electronics, even at maximum production speed. The side seal is immediately cooled after sealing and the euro hang hole, as well as the tear notches are punched out. The film is then cut into individual pouches and transferred into the 8 station rotary turret. The pouches are opened, formed, filled by Multihead weigher and sealed prior to discharging on to the out-feed conveyor to the downstream equipment.
Key Features
- Sensor for the correct position of the pouches in the gripper
- Electronically controlled flow meter for the nitrogen gas flushing (parameters can be saved in recipe management and easily recalled)
- Top seal monitoring for the detection of foreign objects in the top seal and rejection of the identified pouch
- Exhaust unit on the top seal cleans the sealing jaws between each sealing
- Easy-swivel top seal unit for easy cleaning of the sealing jaws
- Automatic rejection of faulty pouches