Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Optima will be exhibiting its intelligent process and packaging solutions at the upcoming Interpack trade fair, where the focus will be on flexibility, high outputs and line solutions to offer users the best possible return on investment. A number of important new developments will be showcased.

OPTIMA consumer
Being able to fill and close both bottles and tubes is the advantage of the flexible new Moduline machine type. The installed robot removes the supplied packaging materials from boxes and inserts them into special transport pucks. Although the exhibited version of the filling and closing machine has been designed to process shampoo, shower gel and lotion (cold and warm filling), the complete range of cosmetic products can also be filled using the same equipment. The machine can accommodate PE and laminate tubes up to 60 mm in diameter and glass and plastic bottles up to 100 mm in diameter. Other dimensions can be integrated. The unit has impressive performance even for large volumes, with an output of up to 12,000 units per hour. Format changes, including between tubes and bottles, do not require any tools. Changeover time including CIP is approximately 20 minutes, depending on the product being processed. Modules can be exchanged or added later to the compact monoblock Moduline machine.

The new high-performance cartoner OPTIMA CBF is closing the gap between primary and secondary packaging thanks to seamless line integration. The products are oriented and positioned within the cartoner. Flexibility is once again the keyword here: Product grouping devices or a second alignment module can be integrated. The cartoner offers a number of advantages for the customer, including a cassette for blanks that can be removed as a unit when formats are changed. Other benefits include gentle processing (finished boxes are transported in a puck), a large format range, operator ergonomics and hygienic properties.

The OPTIMA MPS is another new modular machine designed specifically for food and chemicals. It can flexibly process cylindrical containers including canisters in the filling range of 500 ml to 30 l. The version shown at the fair is for filling liquids, but a filling system for powders could also be installed. The mass flow filling system is located on a trolley, which makes switching products fast while reliably avoiding cross contamination. Additional functions such as handling processes, sealing, flushing, inspection and more can be integrated. The highly accessible machine with explosion protection can also be equipped with a CIP unit. Outputs of up to 160 products/min are reached.

For portion packages such as coffee capsules or soft pods, Optima Consumer achieves outputs of up to 1,500 products/min, a level unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Furthermore, the OPTIMA CFL2-8 model shown at Interpack comes with individual weight measurement and feedback to the dosing system for unrivalled filling accuracy when processing ground coffee. The sealing station utilizes ultrasonic welding.

In order to dose high-quality, expensive products such as powdered milk with absolute weight accuracy while still achieving high outputs, the OPTIMA FS machine comes with an optional integrated continuous topping-up system. This option is ideal for countries with compulsory minimum volumes, to minimize the amount of giveaway. The two integrated pre-dosing units fill the primary filling quantity, after which the topping-up system adds the rest to reach the nominal weight. The calibratable dynamic gross / tare weigher completes the integrated system. An output of 160 containers/min for 900g filling weight is possible with the topping-up function. Additional standard solutions up to 300 containers/min are also available.

OPTIMA pharma
Modular systems are becoming increasingly important in special machinery manufacture. The INOVA SV125 exhibited has been further developed into a proven, modular filling and closing machine system. The INOVA SV is suitable for the range from pilot testing to medium outputs. A maximum output of 18,000 containers/hour is achieved via ten filling points, with a dosing range of 0.1 to 50 ml. The system boasts impressive flexibility. The operator can implement up to three difference filling systems in a single machine while also processing three different container types: nested syringes, carpules and vials (for more information, please refer to page YX in this issue of O-com). Numerous additional modules and functions can be integrated, including filling under vacuum, pre- and post-flushing with gas, and up to 100% in-process control. Upstream, the pre-sterilized containers are manually to fully automatically unpacked and fed to the process. The post-processing section features such modules as backstop locks and safety devices, optical and sensor controls, labelers and track & trace systems. RAB systems and isolators can be deployed for containment.

The company will also be presenting the KUGLER LINOLINE, a monoblock filling and closing machine with an extended format range of 5 ml to 1,000 ml dosed via a peristaltic pump system, allowing for a high output of up to 7,200 products/hour. Up to 4,800 containers/hour can be processed in the 500-ml format. The compact machine also comes equipped with a sophisticated closing system consisting of a stopper insertion station, a sealing station, a screw capper with a final torquing station and a station for attaching a secondary cap and a measuring cup. Optical inspections and integrated in-process control with tendency control of dosing ensure outstanding product quality and filling accuracy.

The Klee freeze dryer to be presented at Interpack is a pilot unit capable of being retrofitted for production as needed. It can be manually loaded and unloaded under an isolator with VHP-sterilization. A special stopper closure mechanism on the back of the machine makes it possible to close individual vials of a test batch in order to assess how the process is progressing. With countless years of experience, Klee offers a comprehensive portfolio of freeze drying technologies in all capacity ranges, including with automatic loading and unloading.

Metall + Plastic will exhibit one of its models to showcase the advantages of its isolator technology for fair visitors, including highly effective, reliable pneumatic sealing systems and catalytic aeration techniques that massively reduce cycle times. Metall + Plastic will also present e-beam decontamination tunnels and isolators for specific requirements.

In addition to its filling and closing technologies, Optima Pharma will be showing the rest of its product range at Interpack, including washing machines, sterilization tunnels, containment and process technologies, and robotics.

OPTIMA nonwovens
The innovative Optima transport system exhibited at the trade fair combines linear transport with the principle of magnetic levitation for a wealth of advantages. Cartridges containing rows of disposable paper products such as diapers can be discharged from the previously closed stacking system, making it possible to distribute product stacks to different packaging machines, to interlink machines or to discharge to quality control. In addition to this new flexibility, the system makes possible higher outputs for small package sizes in particular, as well as more careful product handling. The transport system is installed in Red Dot Design Award-winning housing from Optima. Major advantages here are excellent sound insulation, a design without edges and corners, and a clear view of the machine status.

The AMOTEK R168 demonstrated at the fair is an example of the diverse portfolio of the Italian manufacturer in the semi- and fully automated range. The machine is used to process disposable paper products in a wide range of film packaging, which can be produced on the same machine. Products such as garbage bags or other solid, flexible articles can likewise be processed. A delta robot can be integrated as needed for product handling.

OPTIMA life science
Medicon systems from Optima Life Science are at the cutting edge of modularity. The MEDICON MDC 300 Vario converting unit is ideal for manufacturing and developing advanced wound care products. The process can be very easily changed or expanded. Operators can configure the modules via “plug & play” – no programming skills required. Within a very short time, a new manufacturing process under cleanroom conditions has also been brought to production readiness. The machines are thus ideal for developing new products as well as for flexible series production. The biggest advantage: the time to market for new wound care products is massively reduced.

Optima Life Science will also demonstrate the MEDICON ImmuCoat® production line, a modular, scalable system for the automatic coating of microplates for the production of ELISA test kits. The key feature: all base modules can also be combined as desired for true “plug & play” convenience. MEDICON ImmuCoat® allows parallel administration and processing of a practically unlimited number of product batches without mixing them up.

The purpose of the OPAL software solution developed by Optima Life Science and presented at Interpack is to analyze machines in terms of outputs and potential clusters of errors and to identify potential for improvement, in turn making operational efficiency transparent. OPAL also performs planning and process optimization tasks. The software communicates with other IT systems that are typically installed in companies, including ERP software such as SAP. A number of the machines demonstrated at Interpack will be networked using OPAL.

Optima at Interpack, 8-14 May, 2014 in Düsseldorf: Hall 16, Booth F25-F26