NORDIC (FM 300) flow pack machine,

The ULMA FM 300 (NORDIC) LS BI automatic flow pack machine, is designed to wrap a wide variety of products requiring the reel of film to be on the under side of the machine, producing hermetic seals in "flow pack" or "pillow pack" style.

Technical characteristics

• Designed for the fresh food sector, the machine has a food-industry oriented design, providing special consideration to cleaning, protection against humidity and use of stainless materials, etc. Following these guidelines, the in-feed conveyor can be easily disassembled for optimum cleaning,the machine frame is fully manufactured in stainless steel in a cantilever format, the  machine itself is built in stainless steel or non corrosive materials.
• This electronic flow pack machine is powered with independent motors for each movement. These motors are controlled by an Industrial PC based motion control system. All these features and technologies provide a flexible and highly versatile machine, and reduce product changeover time to minimum levels.
• The machine is built on a strong stainless steel frame and assembled in a cantilever format. This design concept ensures that all the drive mechanisms are assembled in a frame that is isolated from the packaging process. This prevents any debris from the product or film scraps etc, ending up in the drive mechanisms, thus reducing cleaning and improving the life of the components. This design also, provides easy access to the drive components for maintenance.
• The frame is supported on anti-vibration legs in order to minimize the vibration effect on the packaging process, with wheels to assist in the machine installation or any relocation.
• All parts in contact with the product are made in stainless steel or plastic materials conforming to current hygiene requirements.
• The product is fed into the machine on a 300 mm. wide conveyor belt. This belt is designed to be easily removed for cleaning purposes.
• The in-feed conveyor is fully manufactured on a stainless steel frame, the frame and belt have been designed to be easily removed optimum hygiene. The in-feed conveyor can also be easily removed from the machine for cleaning.
• The product feeding onto the in-feed conveyor can be done at irregular intervals. A photoelectric cell at the entrance of the forming box automatically feeds the products with regular spaces onto the film.
• The same photocell is used to measure the product length, and in this way the machine adjusts to create bags with a length according to the measured product length.
• The machine is equipped with a 700 mm. wide single reel holder provided with a pneumatic fastening system with adjustments made at the front of the machine. The pneumatic fastening enables the reel changeover easier for the operators, while the adjustments allows the fine positioning of the reel in the crosswise direction.
• The reel holder includes a brake system activated by means of a dancing arm and a film unwinding powered by an independent motor. This motor is driven by a device measuring the tension of the film in the folding box which gives a uniform tension to the film in the folding box.
• The reel holder includes an end of film detection system, that stops the machine when the film is finished.
• The flexible folding box allows adjustment to the size of the film tube, for different products to be packed.
• The longitudinal seal is created by a set of sealing and pulling rollers, and it has been specifically designed to obtain hermetic seals with Barrier Film. All pairs of rollers are provided with a pneumatic system for their opening. This pneumatic system automatically opens the heated sealing rollers each time the machine stops in order to avoid burning the film.
• The sealing rollers are heated, and controlled by an accurate digital temperature control integrated in machine’s touch screen.
• The longitudinal sealing system can be set up at different heights for the different product heights using a motorized system.
• A transport belt powered by an independent motor helps to transport the product and the film from forming box to cross sealing station. The speed of this belt can be accurately adjusted from control panel to match it exactly with the speed of the film.
• The cross seal is created by a "Long Seal" or "Box Motion" type cross sealing station. The backwards and forwards movement of the sealing head is powered by an independent motor that provides an optimum cycle time in order to improve the production of hermetic seals. The jaw closing movement is equipped with an overpressure system also in order to guarantee the hermeticity on the seals.
• The cross sealing head is equipped with a set jaws 400 mm. wide which are designed to produce high quality fully hermetically sealed.
• The cross seal head includes a motorized system to adjust the center of the cross seal to the different product heights.
• When the machine stops the sealing jaws stop in an open position in order to avoid burning of the film.
• The sealing jaws are provided with an independent temperature control for both the upper and lower jaws using an accurate digital temperature control integrated in machine’s touch screen. This provides an improved control on the sealing jaws temperature.
• The machine includes an 800 mm. long exit belt powered by an independent motor, to reduce and control the tension of the film at the cross sealing station when creating the cross seal.
• The machine is protected with covers and safety systems according to CE regulation.

Electrical specifications

• The machine is controlled by an electronic motion control system that synchronizes the movements of the main axes of the machine.
• The control panel has a 5" monochrome touch screen for the user/machine interface. The screen uses very intuitive menus in a very user friendly environment which allows the setting of the following features:
  - Machine parameter setting for each product (bag length, distance between products, speed, temperatures, etc).
  - Automatic and instantaneous product changeover with the data stored in the data base (the data base stores data up to 50 different products).
  - Temperature control integrated in the screen.
  - Manual activation of different functions (cutting knife, timers, gas analyzer, etc).
  - The screen also gives the machine status information and allows the diagnostic in case the machine stops.
• The machine includes the "Misplaced product security" function. It checks for misplaced products at cross sealing jaws and avoids the jaws to close on the product, creating a double pack.
• The "No product - no bag" function is also standard in the machine. When a lack of product is detected at in-feed conveyor, machine stops waiting for product, and conveyor keeps running to bring the next product to the machine.
• The electrical circuit is protected by a differential switch and has a thermal protection switch against overload.
• The electrical circuit is located on the main machine frame, and it is designed for easy maintenance and accessibility.