Opitz Maschinentechnik: Adaptation of packaging sizes

Opitz Maschinentechnik GmbH is hoping to revolutionize the packaging market with the Vario 558 volume reducer. And it’s picked a good time to do it. Online shopping is enjoying a boom and growing sharply so the number of goods handled by transport companies is on the rise. It’s the ideal time to launch a technology which allows more goods to be transported while also reducing material consumption.

To establish the optimum size for a box, a camera or ultrasonic sensor in the first station measures the height of the product in the box and calculates the fold heights or the depth of the incisions in the four corners of the box. With each new measurement, the respective height of the measured product and the variable box size determine how deep a cut needs to be made and where the blade of the Vario 558 needs to stop in the corners of the standard box.

Next, the box flaps are folded, fixed by a hold-down device and then sealed. The company is an expert in gummed taping, a process used especially for packaging high-value products. This method is much more secure than sealing parcels with adhesive tape. With this gluing method, you can always tell if a parcel has already been opened, which is an advantage if the customer needs to receive the products in a sealed box. This gluing technique, together with the adaptable packaging size, makes the volume reducer an exciting product for many shipping companies.

Given the stringent precision and dynamics requirements of the motion sequences in the Vario 558, Opitz uses servo technology in a multi-axis system. This motion-control solution was jointly developed with us on the basis of the MOVI-C^® automation module. Since both central and decentralized drive technology has been fitted in the machine, it offers great potential variety.

The new MOVI-C^® double-axis module has been fitted for stationary tasks. This drives both the cutting portal as well as material flow within the machine. The use of double-axis modules – which are interlinked via the DC link as a multi-axis system to ensure optimum energy efficiency – significantly streamlines the installation process and reduces the required size of the control cabinet.

In order to make the entire system more energy-efficient, the timings of all sequences have been aligned with one another. The vertical drives, for example, are only powered up at staggered intervals so that the braking energy released when one vertical drive powers down can be used to power up the other one. This alone saves energy and avoids expensive load peaks. Attention is also paid to energy efficiency in the cutting process where decentralized CMP.. ELVCD^® extra-low voltage drives are used. Along with the electric cylinders with servomotor drives, these have the job of adjusting the linear blade position.

The volume reducer has been fitted with decentralized servo drive technology. This has not only significantly reduced the amount of space needed in the control cabinet, but also the number of cables fitted. In this particular case, even cable carriers didn't have to be fitted, which created additional space in the machine and eliminated various wear components. The ELVCD^® extra-low voltage servo drives used on the portals weigh very little, deliver sufficient performance and are supplied perfectly by a looped-in energy and communication bus.