HERMA US introduces new high-precision top labeller
HERMA US Inc, the subsidiary of HERMA GmbH – a Germany-based provider of labeling machinery and self-adhesive labels and materials to the global packaging marketplace – has introduced a self-adjusting system for high-precision top labelling. Now available on the company’s premium 452E Top Labeler, the novel system automatically adjusts on-product label position to ensure tight tolerances, even with particularly challenging applications.
With an output of up to 250 products per minute, HERMA says the aesthetics-minded 452E Top Labeler is ideally suited for applications in which final presentation and appearance is paramount. HERMA is the first in the industry to introduce a self-adjusting system for tracking and automatically adjusting label position in this type of application. The flexible setup can also compensate for production tolerances of labels and product packaging.
The labelling system works as follows: A camera first inspects the products after labelling, checking not only for the presence of the labels but also their positioning. The data collected regarding the label position is subsequently used for fully-automated adjustment of ensuing label applications.
The tracking system can intervene to make corrections in two ways: It achieves the adaptation in the run direction of the products by advancing or retarding the label start signal; in a lateral direction, it can readjust the two side belts that guide products using a linear servo motor. This system enables the labeling machine to apply round or rectangular labels to product surfaces, while keeping labeling tolerances at a very low level.
“These are minimal discrepancies, which are not identifiable with the naked eye”, said Ulrich Fischer, head of Product Management at HERMA Labeling Machines. “We can achieve this result even with particularly challenging applications, such as when round labels are applied to a round surface with extreme precision.”
Inconsistent slitting of the backing liner is a common problem with self-adhesive labels and can cause variation in label placement; HERMA says its new system resolves this. Products with a missing, incorrectly positioned or wrong label are registered and transported into a reject box with a compressed air blast, with a checking sensor ensuring that these products leave the machine.
For more information, visit: www.herma.us.
