Big little machine

Karl-Heinz Klumpe*
Manfred van Triel**

With the Innopack Kisters Primus SP shrink packer KHS is giving the beverage, food and non-food industries a packaging machine that has been specially designed for SMEs. It has been on the market for about ten years now and perfectly complements the range of Innopack Kisters shrink packers to include a low capacity machine. In order to better meet industry requirements the Innopack Kisters Primus SP has now had a thorough makeover, with increased ease of operation, a larger range of products which can be processed and an improved design now all part of the package of benefits.

Equally suited to the beverage, food and non-food sectors

The Innopack Kisters Primus SP is suitable for use in the beverage, food and non-food industries alike and processes a broad spectrum of containers made of plastic, glass or metal. It deals as easily with standard containers as with individually formed packs – as long as the minimum and maximum dimensions are adhered to. Accordingly, each style of packaging must be between 55 and 120 mm in diameter and 90 to 360 mm in height. Formed shrink packs can vary in width between 110 and 830 mm, with heights of 90 to 360 mm and lengths of 110 to 310 mm possible. This means that packs can be a maximum of 40 mm longer than on standard systems, thus greatly increasing flexibility.

Operator-friendly design

The Innopack Kisters Primus SP operates at up to 35 cycles per minute, perfectly supplementing the performance range of KHS' other Innopack Kisters shrink packers. As in the Basic and Advanced series revamped Primus SP machines are also cube-shape in design which further boosts ease of operation.

*Product Management Manager, Packaging Technology Competence Center,

   KHS GmbH, Kleve, Germany. Phone: +49 2821 503 212

**Development and Product Management, Packaging Technology Competence Center,

   KHS GmbH, Kleve, Germany. Phone: +49 2821 503 390

With more space within the machine there's better access to the individual components. Generously proportioned sliding doors with polycarbonate panes give an excellent view of the inner workings of the shrink packer during production. If any manual intervention is necessary, this can be done quickly. The new construction has an open , hygienic design. Smooth surfaces without corners and crevices facilitate quick and easy machine sanitizing and reliably prevent the entry of dirt and particles of dust.

Compact design

The Innopack Kisters Primus SP has remained compact in its design. With a length of 9,700 mm (including the shrink tunnel) and a width of 1,950 mm, the shrink packer takes up very little space and can therefore be easily integrated into existing lines. 

Continuous, gentle operation

Low-speed packaging machines are often sold on the market as cyclic machines. To ensure extremely gentle handling of the shrink packs, the Innopack Kisters Primus SP operates more or less continuously, with abrupt starts and stops replaced by flowing and even conveying of the containers. 

Cutting-edge control technology 

The optimized Innopack Kisters Primus SP is equipped with cutting-edge control technology in the shape of a Siemens S7 controller. The machine has a total of four drives with a main drive, tunnel drive, film reel drive and feed conveyor drive and identical servomotors are used for all dynamic function units. 

Switch cabinet modified

Another important factor is that the switch cabinet is no longer in the shrink tunnel construction but placed next to the machine. This is of great benefit when it comes to providing good ventilation and cooling for the switch cabinet. In hot climates especially standard air conditioning units used for the switch cabinet, formerly coupled with the shrink tunnel, often overreached their limits and additional or larger air conditioners had to be installed.  This is no longer necessary with the new construction which cuts down on a plant's energy overheads. Another advantage of the switch cabinet's new position is that it's much easier to access. On the reworked Innopack Kisters Primus SP the shrink tunnel – like the packaging section of the machine – is fitted to a welded tubular frame. 

Products conveyed by plastic chain mats

Products processed by the Innopack Kisters Primus SP are distributed between the lane guides in nested rows. Depending on the format, containers can be fed into three to eight lanes, with four lanes the standard. The containers are conveyed by a plastic chain mat which is a big plus, especially when handling sensitive receptacles such as plastic bottles. The reason? Plastic chain mats have low coefficients of friction at the bottle base, are free from gaps and thus ensure gentle, pressure-free bottle combining. 

Precise formation creation

In what's known as the stopper gate collating unit gaps are made between the required product groups to create formations of the given length and width.  With the help of an overhead pusher system a synchronizing station installed directly downstream ensures that any gaps still in the product groups between the individual containers are eliminated before they are wrapped in film. On the machine with continuous operation the stopper gate system is cyclic. The length and width settings particular to the product and format can be reproduced without parts having to be exchanged.

Gentle film feed

Formed units then travel on to the film wrapping station. Before packaging units are wrapped in film, this film is unwound from the reel, spread if formations are to be processed on more than one lane and then cut to the specified length. The film cutter is driven here by a coupling system. Cut to its exact measurements, the film is precision fed to the film wrapping system by a servo-driven vacuum belt. Specially coated conveyors transport the film gently, helping to combat the risk of the film sticking, winding or tearing. The conveyor belts are also designed in such a way that they automatically dissipate any electrostatic charge. In conjunction with an additional antistatic system, this offers maximum conveying stability even for very sensitive film types. 

Advice on every application

On the Innopack Kisters Primus SP film thicknesses of 40 to 80 µm can be used, with permissible film widths between 180 and 920 mm. The system is equally suitable for processing printed and unprinted film. Besides providing optimized machinery KHS always shares its expertise on the possible types of film which could be utilized for the customer's specific application. Before the selected materials go into production, test runs are usually carried out at the KHS plant. This ensures reliable processing from the very beginning. 

Optimum film wrapping process 

The continuous film wrapping station on the Innopack Kisters Primus SP works with an overlap system. Stable film collating rods made of carbon fiber and mounted on one side wrap the film around the positioned product group. The dispensed film is then overlapped at the base to give the shrink pack good stability, with product-dependent wrapping curves and an electronically controlled curve speed profile giving optimum film wrapping results. Designed as a format change part, the wrapping curve can be simply swapped over if necessary. During the wrapping process sensors ensure that the product group is correctly wrapped. 

Four steps to perfect shrink packs

In the shrink tunnel hot air is blown under the film pack which seals the overlapping sections of film. From the side hot air enters the pack which is blown up like a balloon and then shrinks as the air supply is slowly throttled. At the discharge end of the shrink tunnel the freshly formed shrink packs are then carefully cooled. 

Variable hot-air nozzles

The shrink tunnel features variable hot-air nozzles which can be precisely adjusted to suit each and every format of shrink pack in a reproducible process. The amount of air supplied to each nozzle can also be separately configured; this applies to both single and multiple-lane operation. If they are not needed for the scheduled pack, the hot-air nozzles can also be parked and fully disconnected from the hot air supply. Hot air is therefore only used where it is needed to produce a perfect shrink result. There is no unwanted air turbulence and energy is used very sparingly. The nozzles are repositioned manually by adjusting spindles equipped with a digital position indicator. 

Optional energy-saving package

An optional energy-saving package can also be ordered for the shrink tunnel. This contains an electronically controlled standby function which reduces the energy consumption of all functional units involved in the shrink process to a minimum should the machine not be in operation for a short period. Once production resumes, all functions immediately return to normal operation. All told, using the energy-saving package can cut down energy consumption by up to 20%. 

Remote Diagnostic Service feasible

As for the Basic and Advanced packaging machines KHS' Remote Diagnostic Service or ReDiS can be used on the Innopack Kisters Primus SP. Through the machine controller a connection is established with the KHS ReDiS service center and a remote diagnosis immediately initiated. A machine problem can often be solved simply by accessing the electronic system components online. If the problem involves mechanical components, a KHS specialist gives the engineer on the machine exact instructions as to which actions must be taken. Updates for the machine can also be provided through the ReDiS service center.

Fast commissioning process

The shrink packer is easy to install and commission. The packaging machine, shrink tunnel, switch cabinet and conveyors are delivered in separate units and can be quickly connected up to one another on site. The necessary air and electricity supply lines are also quickly laid, with no extremely detailed knowledge necessary. This all ensures that commissioning is a quick affair. 

Extensive range of benefits included

To sum up, in reworking its Innopack Kisters Primus SP KHS has perfectly met the needs of SMEs for packaging technology which is based on high-performance machinery and includes all of the benefits thereof. High-precision packaging is a given, as are an increased ease of operation, greater flexibility and optimization of the equipment with regard to the aspect of sustainability.