PACK AGI NG
Bosch’s new avenues in packaging
WOLFGANG H E LLSTE R N, MANAGI NG DI R ECTOR OF CON F ISE RI E BOSCH, IS CONVI NCED THAT
H IG H QUALIT Y M U ST ALSO B E VI S I B LE I N TH E PACK AG I NG. TH E R E FO R E, H E NOW U S E S AN
AUTO M AT IC PACK I NG, A M ECHAN IC AL BAG TW I ST I NG AN D L AB E LLI NG
© Bosch
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Bosch’s traditional product, Wibele, are small sweet sponge cookies similar to Russian Bread which are now produced in a standardized corporate design
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The change in the presentation form in the past year,
from loose Wibele that were weighed out and sold at
baker’s shops in the vicinity, to 40–200 g in pointed and
block bottom packs, was an important step towards the concept of cautiously modernizing the business. At the same
time the packages of all the products (from Wibele and
­praline and chocolate creations to jelly goods) were given a
standardized corporate design in the form of a Bosch ad­
hesive label or printed logo. Hellstern explained that the
­obvious next step in this process was the automatic packing
of the Wibele together with mechanical bag twisting, even
for easily-damaged pralines, and including labelling. However, the market did not contain any packaging supplier
whose machine could match the production volume of the
Wibele without at the same time being oversized and thus
not working at full capacity. The confectioner found a manu­
facturer almost on their doorstep, the PR Pack&Process GmbH
in Waiblingen, Germany, a special machine constructor in
the packaging area, who accepted this challenge. The company
designed two customized machines for Bosch: a bag filler
and a bag twister.
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1. supplying
2. releasing
3. picking up
© Bosch
54
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The functional principle of the filling station
BAKING+BISCUIT ISSUE 02 2014
The first of the plants is designed to pack Bosch’s wibele into
both pointed and block bottom bags, and also to integrate the
existing clipper and metering scale. For this PR Pack&Process
developed a machine that uses vacuum suction cups to take
the required bag in each case from adjustable-height magazines.
Each bag has its own stock of bags with approx. 100 bags.
Optical sensors detect the filling height of the magazine and
move it appropriately upwards as the number of bags in the
magazine decreases. When the stock of bags is empty, the
sensor also notices this and stops any further processing until
the magazine has been refilled with bags by hand. The suction
cups lift up the topmost bag at its upper edge and move it
sideways to the filling station under the weighing machine.
PR Pack&Process Managing Director Marcus Pazer explains
that the lifting process was a minor challenge all of its own E
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PACK AGI NG
© f2m
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© f2m
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Two suction cups under negative pressure suck the top of the bag towards them;
As soon as the suckers have pulled the bag apart from both sides,
the other two suckers (green) can be seen in the background
it can be filled
in the design: “For this the suction cups must perform a
small jerky movement to separate the bag onto which they
have sucked from the bags below it, because the latter often
“stick” to one another due to the thin material.”
store and are then packed together by hand ready for dispatch.
More than 2,500 bags/day can now be filled automatically.
The second PR Pack&Process machine simplifies the bag
sealing process. The twisting/folding of the bag package that
was customary at Bosch in the past is retained, but without
continuing to take place in a time-consuming way by hand.
The twister can twist all block-bottom bags, stand-up pouches
and cross-bottom bags, and all that is needed is to enter the
bag shape into the system beforehand. An employee still packs
the praline, jelly and chocolate products by hand, because
this is the gentlest method for these goods. In the next step
he/she puts the filled bag into the cutlery steel twisting clip.
For this the employee uses a foot petal to open the holder
clasp, stretches the film in straight and releases the pedal. The
electrical twisting process at Bosch operates with 2–3 twists,
although the number of twists can be defined by the operator.
A labelling device that was attached to this process presses
the label on from the back, thus sealing the bag. Pazer comments that the supply and removal of the bags could also be
automated. The twister was designed and manufactured for
Two other suction cups come into play at the filling station.
They suck firmly onto the other side of the bag and pull it open
by moving backwards on their track. The vacuum suckers
move back a different distance depending on the type of bag.
The measuring scale now fills the bag while the integrated
process supervision monitors the filling process. This involves
a sensor on the cone measuring whether the Wibele are
­entering the package correctly. The process stops immediately
if there are malfunctions. The vacuum in the suction cups is
also monitored: Pazer says that if it fails and allows a bag to
fall, this would produce a signal. As soon as the bag has been
correctly filled, which takes a total of approx. 6 sec, the negative
pressure on the suction cups decreases and the bag drops
down upright into a metal container. Here a clipper approaches
from the side with a clip that seals the bag. The bags are collected via a short conveyor belt into an intermediate buffer
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1. twisting
2. closing the
holder clasp
3. sealing
with a label
© f2m
© Bosch
56
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The functional principle of the bag twister
After the bag has been correctly inserted, the clamp closes and the twisting process
starts. Shortly afterwards the label that seals the bag is pressed on from the back
BAKING+BISCUIT ISSUE 02 2014
PACK AGI NG
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NON-StOp
pErfECtION
© Bosch
your requirements.
your machine.
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The clamp is opened and closed pneumatically at Bosch
the first time for Bosch. However, PR Pack&PRocess is
­a lready working on a new version in which the clamp is no
longer opened and closed pneumatically but by an electromagnet instead. A simpler model designed for smaller delivery volumes is also being contemplated, for use directly
in retail store operations.
Confiserie Bosch is satisfied with its semi-automatic machines. According to Managing Director Wolfgang Hellstern
they allowed production costs of the packaging to be reduced
by 10 %, and he says the packing process now runs more
regularly and systematically. “We also retain our flexibility,
because a large variety of other products can be wrapped
and packed in addition to the traditional Wibele.” However,
something much more important: with the new packing
machine it was also possible to retain the artisan character
of the product. The familiar block-bottom bags that define
the character of the jelly and praline products on the shelves
will attract the attention of customers to them to an increased extent in the future, because they are distinctly
different to the usual types of packaging. +++
COMBILINE
THe ModUlAR plAnT THAT GRowS
wITH yoUR ReqUIReMenTS
The roll line offers an hourly output rate of up to
9,000 pieces at 6-row operation and is based on
the tried and trusted dividing and rounding machine
Classic Rex Futura. due to the modular design,
components such as seeder, convoluting station or
cutting station can be easily retrofitted.
© f2m
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Both the contents and the exterior of the goods that emerge have a high-quality
appearance
ADVERTISEMENT
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König Maschinen Gesellschaft m.b.H. I AUSTRIA
[email protected]
www.koenig-rex.com