ALTech UK have recently installed an ALfeed single hopper pick and place labelling system within Instarmac, a market leading manufacturer of cement and bitumen based products. The machine is designed to apply labels to a wide range of flat format pillow bags (also known as pasted end bags); a product that is typically difficult to mechanically feed.
The system runs at between 35-50 bags p/min and applies two labels in a single application; one to each end of the bags. Labels are applied on demand for a wide range of grout colours, allowing Instarmac to be more reactive to market trends and requirements and reduce their pre-printed bag stock.
The two label multi dispense is an advanced function of the ALritma labelling head, and the ability of the machine to save pre-set functions against a recipe format also means that the customer can move between 3kg and 10kg multi label dispensing applications (with different size labels and label position pitches) for example, at the touch of a button. There are also bag formats where only one label is applied; again automatically set as a function of the pre-saved format and selected on the integrated touch screen. The system is also matched to an intelligent indexing shingle collection conveyor to create an autonomous feed-label-restack solution for single man operation.
This system was designed and built within our UK workshop and is one of many ALTech labelling machines installed within Instarmac. The single hopper was considered to be the most appropriate solution for Instarmac, due to their relatively modest volumes (around two thousand of each bag type p/day). ALTech also offer an automatically indexing multi hopper solution for higher volume continuous running operations.
Other machines installed within Instarmac include an ALline E for jerry can labelling, and a number of inline ALstep machines which incorporate carton erector systems for on demand inline carton branding.
10kg Grout Bags
3kg Grout Bags