New CartonSpec Folding Carton Inspection System Lowers Labor Costs and Improves Quality

Charlotte, NC - Roberts PolyPro, a division of ProMach, and Label Vision Systems (LVS) jointly introduced today CartonSpec - a high-speed vision inspection and data acquisition system for folding cartons.

The new CartonSpec system:

• Ascertains that every carton entering a folder gluer meets printing and appearance specifications
• Reads all standard barcodes for quality assurance that the carton and product are in synch
• Matches database records for mass serialization applications

The CartonSpec system has been in development for more than a year. The system appeals particularly to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, where print quality and appearance, data acquisition, and the minimization of risk are all paramount concerns. In fact, every high-volume/high-speed carton operation can potentially benefit from its capabilities.

"This system differs from other solutions because it is the only one that is inline with the folder gluer," said Roy Tetreault, general manager, Roberts PolyPro. "CartonSpec inspects and records data on 100 percent of the folding cartons as they are fed into the folder gluer and does so at speeds of up to 1,000 feet per minute."

Tetreault said that out-of-specification cartons can be rejected before product is inserted, and the organization can have an individual record of every carton entering the folder gluer. There is no other system on the market that can deliver this level of inspection and data acquisition with nearly zero labor cost.

Scott Lydell, North American sales manager at LVS, adds, "Cartons enter folder gluers with the print side down, so until now the only way to inspect print quality was offline, which adds an extra step to the production process. Furthermore, the offline inspection was only for print quality, not scuffs and damage to the carton that can frequently occur as cartons are fed into the folder gluer.

"The CartonSpec inline system lowers labor costs for carton inspection because there is no need for an additional inspection step. The return on investment in labor savings alone is compelling, not to mention the many other advantages offered.

The CartonSpec technology breakthrough comes from the development by Roberts PolyPro of a vacuum system that holds the cartons steady from the top while the LVS camera inspects them from below as they travel from the feeder to the folder gluer. At speeds of up to 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) per minute the control of both carton flutter and the +/- .125 inch (.3 centimeters) control of carton orientation make it possible for the up-facing camera to capture a clear image. It is this mechanical/electronic coordination that delivers the application breakthrough.

Flexibility adds to the value of the new system - it is modular and can be moved to different folder gluers within a packaging facility. Set up for each job goes quickly and once a job has been run, the master image and associated data is stored in memory, where it is available for easy recall, reducing set up time.

Acceptable carton widths range from 5 to 20 inches (12.7 to 50.8 centimeters) and lengths from 6 to 24 inches (15.2 to 61 centimeters). The new system can be obtained from Roberts PolyPro, (1-800-269-7409).