This is a linear chain model with all features as its current rotary machines like vertical product dosing, bottom-up filling with shut-off nozzle, tool-less changeover and attractive options like multi-colour filling and profiled seals.

The tubes have to be first manually transferred from the tube box to the cassette provided on the machine, which in turn transfers them to a conveyor, which is driven by servo. From the conveyor,multiple tubes are picked up a
servo-driven rotary pick-up device and loaded into the tube holders. The tubes then travel through the orientation, filling and closing stations before they are ejected out. The indexing as well as the main drive are also servo-driven.

The CONDOR 300 is linked & synchronised downstream with its sister company Vectacraft’s MERLIN 300XC cartoner and OSPREY 25 bundler, to form a line – the SL 300 tube packaging line. And the soon-to-be-added KESTREL 10s casepacker will make it a complete solution for tube packaging.

Once closed in the CONDOR 300, the tubes are ejected out of the tube filler onto a tubetransfer system which flap the tubes into the pockets of the product conveyor of the MERLIN 300XC horizontal cartoner. The cartoner is servo-driven, taking its position from feedback given by tube filler.

In the MERLIN 300XC, a pre-folded leaflet is first picked up by a rotary pick-up device and fed to the pincer on the leaflet chain. Then, a carton is picked up from the stack by a servodriven rotary pick-up device, pre-broken and then loaded into the carton chain. The tube is inserted into the carton and it is closed on both sides either by tuck-in or gluing.

The cartons then travel from the outlet of the cartoner to the in-feed conveyor of the OSPREY 25V bundler where they are first collated in a desired matrix. The required length of BOPP film is then brought down by grippers; the bunch is wrapped with the same and pushed to the sealing station. Here, first the main overlapped film is sealed and subsequently the films on the pack ends are sealed to create a sturdy multipack.

The multipacks would then travel to the KESTREL 10s casepacker where they will be collated in a required configuration and then pushed into a case, which has been opened and kept ready. The case will then be taped or glue-sealed.

Hence, the first machine takes in the empty tubes (& the product to be filled) and the last machine produces a packed case, ready to be shipped out of the customer’s factory.

Subnil has a single-minded commitment to excel in tube packaging lines and the new addition to their range shows their dedication towards this resolve.

Progressing on the controls front, Subnil has worked with Elau servos for the very first time, on the SL 300 line.

To view a video of the CONDOR 300 and the SL 300 tube packaging line, click here.