Small or large, rectangular or square, thick or thin: chocolate bars are produced in many different formats and with different recipes and (ultimately) also packaged with a wide range of sustainable and efficient packaging materials - ideally all on one machine ...
However, it is not only the differentiated formats (you rarely see them just round or even triangular) but also the recipes and special ingredients that pose new challenges for some producers: For example, chocolates with additives such as whole nuts are generally much more difficult to package than bars without.
Photo: LoeschPack
Demand for maximum flexibility
In modern production today, it's all about efficiency, flexibility, reducing downtime, minimising machine space requirements and ultimately packaging as many bars as possible with the minimum amount of staff. It is precisely this flexibility that customers appreciate about the high-end machines from Loesch, as chocolate manufacturers around the world have been relying on packaging machines and systems from Franconia for more than 100 years. In the panel sector, manufacturers often opt for the top-of-the-range LTM-DUO model.
„Over the last few years, we've been trimming the LTM-DUO to maximise efficiency and flexibility.“ Edwin Birk, Head of Research & Development at LoeschPack
The task set by a renowned chocolate manufacturer was to pack bars in a wide variety of formats and recipes, from very small to very large. It needed to be possible to pack chocolate bars with a total of ten different formats within a single packaging line, with weights ranging from 30 grams to 300 grams. This task is not unusual: LTM-DUO models with more than 20 different possible formats have already been produced and supplied.
Precision in a double pack
The renowned manufacturer has opted for two machines from LoeschPack each covering a specific format range, one from 30 to 100 grams and one from 85 to 300 grams, which benefits the respective performance of the individual platforms.
In principle, the machines can be mechanically operated up to a Output of over 200 products per minute. The format, additives and packaging material have an influence on the speed. The two machines are arranged as mirror images so that they can be operated by just one operator. Altendorf has also improved the format changeover times in the current generation of the LTM-DUO: For example, a simple change of the sheet height during format changeover is completed in under five minutes, while changing all sheet dimensions and both packaging material stations takes just over an hour.
The LTM-DUO enables efficient multi-product production thanks to simple and fast format changeovers with pre-assembled format part assemblies, some of which can be carried out without tools or with just one tool. Thanks to the format changeover without further parameter settings, start-up problems are avoided and the machine runs stably and with the usual efficiency immediately after the format changeover. Operator training, colour-coded format assignment or optional electronic installation monitoring of the format parts ensure error-free installation of the parts and minimal downtime.
Once the correct format has been selected, the packaging process can begin: The products are fed to the first station, which is responsible for the inner wrap, using smart belts without any accumulation pressure, and any sheets damaged during the process are ejected.
Internal and external wrapping
The first station is where the inner wrapping takes place. Depending on the customer's requirements and format, the wrap is either tightly sealed or open. Aluminium foil or laminated aluminium foil, conventional films such as OPP or commercially available biopolymer packaging films, recyclates, mono or laminated film from the roll can be used without any problems.
Photo: LoeschPack
The outer wrap can be designed as a paper label from a stack or optionally from a roll, as well as a cardboard label.
The company offers a wide range of equipment variants and options for the LTM-DUO, including tailor-made solutions such as the option for an outer wrap from the reel, integration in upstream and downstream or various dispensing situations such as stacking after packaging, in order to fulfil all the requirements and wishes of international customers. A trapezoidal box is also conceivable as a customised solution.
In 2021, Loesch will also present its new HMI (Human Machine Interface) generation: In addition to simple and intuitive operation and smart user guidance, predictive maintenance and other components such as the evaluation of telemetry data and, in future, instructions for format changes in the video will also be introduced to increase efficiency.
One-stop shopping
In future, the manufacturer will be adding another component to its portfolio for chocolate bars. As a module, the CMW complements the existing product range. One by one Cartoning module supplemented LTM-DUO can then unfold display cartons in a wrap-around process, and the ready-made bars are finally packaged for the supermarket shelf.
The new line manages with just one control system and one hot melt unit and is designed in the balcony version for easy maintenance and cleaning and therefore the highest hygiene requirements. One operator alone can pack up to 400 chocolate bars per minute ready for the shelf - and in the smallest of spaces.
The new cartoning module will also be available as an upgrade kit for older LTM-DUO variants. The new CMW rounds off the portfolio in the downstream sector as a stand-alone variant for packaging tubular bags or fold wrapping in display cartons. Several machines can also be combined here if required.
