Gluing Primary Packaging Precisely and Quickly

Primary packaging directly encloses products and protects them from external influences. Pharmaceutical and food products must be safely packed so that the sensitive products arrive at their destination undamaged. Primary packaging can be glued quickly and reliably with a precise hot melt adhesive application. This even includes small packing formats for chocolates, chewing gum, cough drops, and demanding packing materials such as recycling paper or OPP films.

Adhesive Application on Primary Packaging: Challenges

Products in the food and pharmaceutical industries are sensitive. Thus, primary packaging must adequately protect chocolate bars, herbal candies, and similar from heat and scents. For this reason, even tiny articles are individually wrapped in PE films, OPP films, laminated films, paper, or cardboard. This places unique demands on the gluing of primary packaging:

Primary packaging is small and offers hardly any space for adhesive application. Nevertheless, each package must reach the retail market reliably glued and not end up in production scrap.
Special packaging materials require unique adhesives to ensure reliable adhesion. However, these hot melt adhesives place high demands on the melting process and adhesive application. They are temperature-sensitive and tend to string.
The production speeds of primary packaging machines and fold wrapping machines are high. For example, up to 500 mini chocolates are glued in just one minute. This requires precision and speed in the adhesive application. This is a challenge, as there is hardly any time to apply the hot melt adhesive in mini dots or mini beads with millimeter precision to the correct spot and in the right size - and this reliably on each individual miniature packaging.
Chocolate melts easily. Sensitive products such as sweets, food, or medicines are therefore packed in air-conditioned rooms. However, the use of machines and the application of hot melt adhesive generate waste heat. Energy-efficient systems tip the scale in favour of sustainability.

Three Team Players - One Brilliant Result: Consistency in High-precision Adhesive Application

With the Vision melter, Performa heated hose, and SpeedStar Compact hot-melt application head, you get the dream team for repeatable, high-precision adhesive application in your packaging process. These three interact optimally. In the end, every dot is at the right spot - every time. No matter how small your packaging or how demanding your adhesives and your packaging materials are.

But not only that. The three team players form an adhesive application system that noticeably improves the gluing process’s energy and operating cost balance.

Team Player 1: Vision

The Vision melter controls the heating capacity via two temperature zones. It can thus melt even temperature-sensitive hot melt adhesives particularly gently and energy-efficiently. The fast-switching piston pump delivers the adhesive at constant pressure for a consistently uniform adhesive application. Vision achieves a system availability of more than 99 % and ensures high process reliability.

Team Player 2: Performa

The Performa heated hose ensures that the adhesive neither overheats nor cools down uncontrollably at the connection points on its way from the melter to the application head. The adhesive retains its viscosity required for reliable gluing.

Team Player 3: SpeedStar Compact

The SpeedStar Compact application head applies 0.5-millimeter dots and short beads to tiny primary packaging with high precision - and that at a switching cycle of 800 Hz.

SpeedStar Compact maintains this performance with repeatable accuracy over a service life of 500 million operating cycles, as the intelligent control detects and compensates for stroke changes via the automatic displacement control. The adhesive application remains precise, even under changing conditions such as adhesive temperature, viscosity, and mechanical wear.

Unique System Advantages for Machine Manufacturers at a Glance

Straightforward system integration: direct control of SpeedStar Compact via 24 VDC connection without a booster
Vision with Robatech Control System: easy system integration via open interfaces or standardized Fieldbus protocols
Flexible system planning: Longitudinal or transverse installation of Vision. FlexPort for space-saving heated hose connection.
Performa heated hose with PrimeConnect plug coupling for quick and error-free installation without special tools

Unique System Advantages for Users at a Glance

Flawless gluing thanks to repeatable, high-precision adhesive application with clean cut-off
Long service life and high process reliability lower the operating costs
Operating and status information always available with the Vision Smart Terminal - even from a distance
Little waste heat and low energy consumption improve the energy balance sustainably
Ease of cleaning of the Performa heated hoses, the nozzles on the SpeedStar Compact application head, and the Vision tank interior and tank filling area