Packaging Frozen Dinners on a Cartoner

Application: Various food cartoner applications

Challenges: Multiple applications in one machine

Solution: Banner lighting, safety, indication and sensing products

Benefits: One manufacturer to solve many solutions

Challenge

A cartoning machine, also frequently referred to as a cartoner, is a packaging machine that forms various types of cartons, including closed, folded, side seamed and sealed cartons. In addition to forming the carton, many cartoning machines incorporate product loading options.

Banner products provide simple solutions for cartoners from beginning to end. In this example, the horizontal cartoner machine forms the carton, fills empty cartons with frozen dinners and then closes the carton on either end. This part of the packaging process requires reliable sensing and safety solutions to ensure a smooth-running process.

Solution

WLS28 Work Light Strips: Bright, long-lasting LED light strips provide optimal visibility inside the cartoner for operator access and easily fit on the machine without obscuring access

Safety Hinge Switches: Stainless steel, load-bearing safety hinge switches support the cartoner’s machine door and will shut down the machine if the doors are opened, and minimize the risk of intentional defeat

TL50 Tower Light: The TL50 Tower Light is extremely bright and provides highly visible indication from long ranges to display machine status with clear on/off states

WORLD-BEAM QS30 Adjustable-Field Sensor: Banner’s advanced QS30 has enhanced background suppression to detect a frozen dinner product and will signal “no product, no carton” if the bucket is empty

LX Series Part-Sensing Light Screen: The LX Series Light Screen detects the leading edge of the frozen dinner and triggers the conveyor to speed up or slow down so that each dinner enters the bucket on the cartoner correctly

iVu BCR: Banner’s iVu BCR bar code reading scanner ensures the frozen dinner is loaded into the correct carton to prevent packaging errors

WORLD-BEAM QS18 Laser Diffuse Sensor: The QS18LD laser sensor scans across the top of the package to see if any flaps are open

WORLD-BEAM QS18 Fixed Field Sensor: A QS18FF50 fixed-field sensor monitors the fill level of the cart on magazine, and signals the operators to refill the magazine