Drink bottles in a multi-use system should have some kind of device that allows them to be transported more easily. In fact, they do. The Logipack company created the Logipack system specifically for this purpose. Now, any man or woman can easily bring home a 4, 6-, 8-, 10- or 12-pack via a carry handle.

Repacking from the Logipack tray to the containers in the Logi-tray is carried out fully automatically in the TLM Logipacker. The Logipack trays, usually filled with beer bottles, are fed into the first TLM sub-machine (photo) starting from the right, unpacked and placed on transmodules outfitted with the corresponding transport tools. If desired, the bottles are turned in an aligning station (second machine frame) in such a way that all labels point to the desired position. Orderliness is key. At the same time, baskets are erected from pre-glued box blanks in the first and second machine frames. In the third sub-machine, the bottles are placed in the baskets. In the fourth and fifth submachines, the baskets are closed with a lid piece. In the sixth TLM sub-machine, the baskets are placed back into the Logipack tray.

The packaging capacity of the Logipacker is 28,000 bottles per hour or, to say it another way, 7.7 bottles per second. The Logipacker can be converted for various packaging units within a few minutes by changing tools.

The Logipacker is the first packaging machine equipped with the new transmodule and thus the most flexible packaging machine available in the world at the present time.

260 bottles a minute, 8 different pack sizes from 4-bottle mutlipacks to 24-bottle trays and shipping cartons - quite a performance spectrum for a single machine.

And what’s more - the multipacks not only have to be cluster packed but also placed into shipping cartons. Mission impossible? Plenty would say so. The entire line has to be accommodated in an area of just 7 x 2,5 m - which means using one single TLM packaging machine.

Despite the highly compact technology it contains, this machine still affords an exceptionally clear arrangement and optimum accessibility to everyone of its functions - as the industry has come to expect of a Schubert TLM packaging machine.

The bottles are fed towards the TLM-F44 robots along a continuously operating product feed belt. The TLM-F44 robots group the bottles on the grouping belt. During this process, the TLM-F44 vision system transmits wide-ranging data to the robots, such as the position of the bottles, the position of the label, or the presence of bottle caps. All bottles which are given a clean bill of health are picked off the infeed conveyor and positioned on the grouping belt. Where applicable, the robots ensure that labels are facing in the desired direction. While the collated groups of bottles are transported towards the filling station in the final packaging plant, the first station is busy erecting the trays, sleeves, clips or boxes. There is practically no limit to the variety of possible packaging methods. In the filling station, the bottles are picked off the continuously operating grouping belt and placed in any one of the wide variety of different receptacles. In the closing station of the final packaging plant, the boxes are closed by a closing tool powered by a TLM-F2 robot unit. Simply changing the closing tool permits the use of every conceivable type of closing technique.