High versatility in small space
An international pharmaceutical group chose their Italian plant to produce powdered antibiotics for children, raising a need to re-configure three bottle lines.
From filling to packaging
In the first section, the bottles are positioned and cleaned. They are then transported into sterile rooms to be filled and sealed. After the cleanroom, the bottles pass through a shaking machine, wrappers, case packers, and finally to the palletizing area.
Bottle elevation in sterile environments
To elevate the bottles inside the sterile room and create a series of passages for the operators, FlexLink installed a wedge elevator with flexible rubber cleats for efficient and gentle handling.
Part of the supply was also to balance the line so that the shaking machine had a leveraged in-feed. FlexLink had to use an existing system coming from a plant in Puerto Rico but customized it to the current lines. FlexLink also delivered two additional alpine buffers.
Delicate handling of shrink-wrapped packages
In one of the lines, the bottles are not packaged in boxes but shrink-wrapped. "During the transfer from the shrink-wrapping machine to the palletizer, We must avoid the risk that the chain links pinch off the wrapping film," says the project manager at FlexLink. "We, therefore, recommended our XB conveyor with 175 mm wide chain, which features overlapping links that stay closed even in bends. This design minimizes the risk of jamming or tearing the shrink-wrapping film."
New versatility requirements
With the use of the Puerto Rico lines, we appreciate more and more the flexibility of FlexLink", says the customer's Maintenance Manager. "We had to reconfigure the lines with the integration of components coming from Puerto Rico. The versatility of FlexLink allowed us to redesign the conveyor layouts without big problems and at the same time solve new problems."
Easy assembly
"Thanks to the easy assembling procedures, we always mount FlexLink components ourselves. FlexLink offers us all the technical support needed. We often ask for short delivery terms, and they always meet our requirements", ends the Maintenance Manager.
