SUBNIL’s 5-Axis Servo Based Tube Filler
16 September 2005
SUBNIL has launched LIMBUS 170, a twin-head tube filler driven by 5-axis servo system with a capacity to produce 10,000 tubes/hour.
Tube loading from the cassette into the tube holder as also the tube orientation is servo-driven. The rotary turret movement is driven by Servo and it helps in quick & controlled indexing, thereby ensuring jerk-free movements. The pump has a vertical dosing system which aids in product suction. Pressure relief is provided on the pump to detect excess pressure on the dosing system. The servo-aided fill lift ensures clean and accurate filling. The varying lift timings for different tube lengths and filling products can be programmed and recalled instantly at the touch of a key.
Some of the stations are driven from the centre and a majority of the stations are mounted on a centre plate. This ensures a lot of working space around the tube path. A reject station is provided between the sealing and trimming stations for rejecting overheated and non-oriented tubes. The non-oriented tubes are neither filled nor heated and can be reused.
The control panel is a standalone tower design. All servo motors and drives are of Bosch-Rexroth. A colour touch-screen HMI is the operator interface and this as well as the PLC and the VFD are from Rexroth.
Besides filling a single material, it can handle 2-colour or 3-colour striping with ease. For a fill volume of 225gms of toothpaste in 2-colour in an 8-section pie formation, the machine can produce about 150 tubes/min.
The LIMBUS 170 tube filling machine can be subsequently linked to SUBNIL’s PRO 200 cartoner and COLWRAP bundler thereby making it a complete tube packaging line offered from a single supplier.
