Wrap-Around Case Packer for Spreadable Cheese Cups

Company

This wrap-around case packer was developed for a French cheese manufacturer belonging to a leading dairy group.

The plant specialises in fresh cheeses. To improve its packaging lines, the cheese manufacturer was looking for a solution to automatically case-pack lidded tubs of fresh spreadable cheese.

The future installation had to receive stacks of flat case blanks, receive the tubs from the lidding-machine outfeed, form the cases, load the tubs, close the cases, discharge the full cases and integrate a labeller supplied by the customer.

Project & solution

To meet this requirement, JYGA recommended installing a wrap-around case packer for closed cases.

The wrap-around cases are formed from flat cardboard blanks loaded manually by the operator into the machine magazine. The blanks create splitable cases. At the case-packer outfeed, each case contains eight tubs for efficient logistics handling through to the point of sale. The case can then be split into two shelf-ready cases containing four products each for retail display.

At the same time, the tubs are collected from the lidding-machine outfeed by a robot fitted with a suction-cup gripper. The robot places the tubs on a batch-preparation conveyor. A second robot performs the same operation at a second station. These case-packing robots arrange the tubs in an organised pattern on two conveyors before case loading.

At the next two stations, the cases are presented to the loading modules.

Two additional robots load the cases by placing the prepared batches of tubs into two cases. Each robot loads one layer.

The gripper is changed manually according to the format.

At the following stations, the case flaps are glued and pressed.

At the final station, each case is weighed. Any non-compliant case is rejected for manual handling.