The advantages of an integrated system

COMBINING COMPETENCIES If you choose a tailor-made suit, would you buy jacket and trousers in two different shops? You might even end up with something nice and elegant, but to be on the safe side, you are best off choosing one bespoke tailor. The “suit” in this case is a monobloc (unscrambler, filler and capper), the result of the work of Acma and Kykloo.

Acma, leading concern in the field of the design of automatic packaging machines, has started up an engineering design partnership with Kykloo, the dynamic Parma based enterprise specialised in the production of unscramblers, obtaining, from “expert tailors”, an innovatory integrated system that, like tailored clothing, can be suited to the different needs that arise when bottling liquid products in containers of different shapes and sizes.

The system comprises a monobloc for unscrambling the bottles, produced by Kykloo, that works together with an Acma filler and capper of the latest generation WM series.
This solution provides multiple advantages: aboveall a compact system is obtained, only eight metres in length, comprising and unscrambling, orientating, buffer, filling and capping system.

On top of that, the Acma-Kykloo solution has been designed to reduce the complex format change operations via systems that enable the electronic setting and rapid replacement of the mechanical components. But there is more: the system guarantees that the machines and the various components interact electronically and mechanically in perfect harmony.

The new, step-by-step

The Acma-Kykloo solution features numerous innovations, covered by patents, and stands out for its functioning cycle that is simple yet technologically advanced at the same time. The first ordering phase is by way of centrifugal feed system, which ensures the continuous flow of containers to a synchronization system, which deposits every single piece in the "pockets of the carousel." The latter is equipped with an electromechanical unscrambling system that retrieves the empty spaces, so as to optimize time and space. The container, before being added to the carousel, is photographed by a camera system and analysed, so as to allow the rotating unit to correctly manage the container, optimizing handling within the unit.

The control of the container at the machine input stage is done with dedicated systems: from the most simple two-dimensional array of sensors, to more complex vision systems with camera, all to ensure the perfect recognition of the container in terms of the characteristics of the same. Any non complying bottle is simply moved to the reject area. During all phases of the orientation the container handling is extremely accurate and delicate, so as to ensure no knocks or falls.

Among the many advantages of the unscrambling system one has the format change, which is fully automated, no human intervention on the machine being required. The whole process of ordering and orientation is done using compressed air in a controlled environment, so as to avoid contamination by external agents.

The Acma machine is in turn a system from the new WM gravitational filling series with net weight control and capping of containers for liquid, dense or foamy products, designed to handle food products with the utmost respect for cleanliness and hygiene: during the filling, there is no contact between valve and container, and the presence of protective seals ensures safe and effective inside cleaning processes. The filling system is fitted with a separate module to control the net weight and operates according to a "no bottle/no fill" logic , so as to avoid product wastage. Weighing accuracy is also guaranteed regardless of variables such as temperature and product.

Lastly, in the event of a particularly viscous or foamy product, the VLS (virtual level system) intervenes, which ensures a constant flow out of the tank. The system operates according to a "push-pull" logic: where products are very dense and creamy the content level inside the tank is raised virtually, increasing the pressure on the product at the filling valves. In the case of foamy products, the liquid is placed in suspension, preventing the foam from settling in the vicinity of the filling valves.

The integrated system presented by Kykloo-Acma is dedicated to the food, cosmetic and chemical sectors, and is especially effective when a highly compact solution together with max flexibility to deal with constant changes of container format ensuring consistently high production performance are called for.