Heidelberg showcases folding carton production

Printing equipment manufacturer Heidelberg has showcased industrialized folding carton production for pharmaceutical and food applications at a series of events in Germany.

 

During the Packaging Days series, which took place in mid-April, more than 150 participants from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America saw practical demonstrations of the systems Heidelberg offers specifically for the pharmaceutical and food industries. This included the interaction of technology, services, and consumables to achieve high efficiency and reliable production.

 

A focal point was low migration quality (LMQ) – the manufacture packaging for foodstuffs in such a way that no harmful substances come into contact with the actual product.

 

Representatives from key supply chain members, notably Mondelez International and Model PrimePac AG, discussed the requirements and practical applications of LMQ, while visitors were shown LMQ production on a Speedmaster XL 162 five-color press with coating unit.

 

Further equipment demonstrations included, for the first time, the Dymatrix 106 Pro CSB die-cutting unit showed the quick-action clamping system in stripping and blanking stations. Depending on the job, this can cut make-ready times in both stations by up to five minutes.

 

For pharmaceutical packaging in particular, it should be possible to ensure maximum productivity in stripping the tiniest pieces of waste with fine contours - and to do so even in complex layouts.

 

The Dymatrix 106 exhibited at the Packaging Days was also equipped with the chase changer unveiled at Drupa 2012, which cuts make-ready times for frequent job changes significantly and further increases the productivity of the Dymatrix. After using the changer, this can be swung out to the side to save space, thus enabling operators to retain their freedom of movement.

 

A Speedmaster XL 75 Duo demonstrated the production of a pharmaceutical folding carton with security features, surface finishing with the FoilStar cold foil module and dual-coating applications with spot coating.

 

The Diana X 80 folding carton gluing machine was also featured, with a presentation from Jon Drennan, operations director at Chesapeake in Leicester in the UK, which has been successfully using the Diana X 80 with Braille module and inspection control module for pharmaceutical packaging for over a year.

 

The event also allows delegates to discuss the latest developments with Heidelberg’s Prinect packaging workflow, which integrates all the process steps in folding carton manufacture. This was shown to participants by evaluating the production results from a live demonstration.

 

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