Sidel at Interpack 2011: increased flexibility and reliability at each step of the bottling process

The Sidel Group will demonstrate its capabilities as one of the leading complete bottling line suppliers in hall 13, stand C35/E46 at Interpack 2011 in Düsseldorf, from 12 - 18 May 2011.

For each step of the process, Sidel will present state-of-the-art technology with increased flexibility and reliability, from high-tech packaging machinery and line engineering to beverage protection, packaging design and technical trainings. Key to Sidel’s approach is the ability to offer upgrades and innovative options for the installed base as well as complete turn-key solutions.

For the end of the production line, for example, Sidel will demonstrate its new SP 1000 HS palletizer: improved machinery with intelligent software that increases the productivity of palletizing solutions.

Whereas high-level palletizers work with stationary layers and pallet moving, the new SP 1000 low-level palletizers maintain steady pallets and the layers in movement.

By enhancing its existing machines and processes, Sidel is now able to bring the same level of dependable, high-speed performance of its high-level palletizers to low-level palletizing.The SP 1000 HS palletizer marks an innovative breakthrough which is the result of two core functions, layer preparation and palletization, working together more effectively than ever before.

During layer formation the machine rotates and positions the packs into a perfectly shaped layer to be transferred onto the pallet. In the following palletization phase, the layers are picked up and safely stacked onto the pallet with precision.

Sidel has managed to increase the speed of this process by improving the way the two steps of the process interact. Sidel’s new patent-pending “pusher” is able to guide the layers alternatively to the right or to the left while optimizing the “return stroke” time, which, in the traditional approach, is substantially an “empty” movement.

The process is supported by Sidel’s new software program PLACE, short for Pallet and Layer Automated Configuration Editor. It creates and manages diverse pattern configurations before the layer-formation phase. This is particularly useful for short-batch runs that require constant switching between formats and packaging types.

The software, which can be installed either on the touch screen operator panel or on a PC, is compatible with Sidel’s Robo-Smart and Axo-Smart layer-preparation systems. It automatically checks whether the pallets are suitable and stable while optimizing efficiency and preventing errors.

Sidel’s Robo-Smart and Axo-Smart form and prepare the layers as the packs come off the production line onto the conveyers belts. Format changeovers regarding layer, bottles, or packs are entirely automatic and software-managed, avoiding the need to stop the line. Using the PLACE software, the operator simply chooses the required format on the operator panel controls.

As Axo-Smart and Robo-Smart treat packs very gently, there is virtually no risk of product damage. It is nearly impossible for packs to fall due to oscillation, as the device handling the pack travels at exactly the same speed as the surface on which the product travels.

For the second step in the palletization process, the new SP 1000 HS palletizer permits use of either Robo-Kombi or Robo-Column which physically pick up the packs and place them on the pallets. Both solutions offer high-speed operation, easy integration with existing solutions, and versatile gripping for working with different formats, including crates, shrink-wrapped packs, loose bottles, plastic trays, empty PET bottles and others.