The experts from Schubert will be presenting their answers to development trends and current questions in the packaging industry. For example, new requirements from the online mail order business are taken into account: today, entirely different packing schemes, sizes and materials are required than in the stationary trade, which predominantly uses display packs.

A customer machine at the Schubert booth will demonstrate how cardboard boxes can be used instead of packaging film in the packaging process. The compact lightline Cartonpacker consists of three submachines in two machine frames with the functions of erecting the carton trays, filling and sealing. It packs choco-late bars in display cartons, which are fed via two belts with an output of 120 bars per minute each. The 200-g chocolate bars are not packed in a film sleeve, but in a cardboard folding box. During processing, the products which enter the machine lying flat, are first placed on edge in a grouping chain, pushed together and then placed in blocks into a carton tray. In this process, the packaging material of the bars plays practically no role.

The highly valued flexibility of Schubert’s machines does not stop with the packaging material itself. It is also enabled by the company’s individually manufactured robot tools. 3D printing in particular now offers options that were previously unthinkable. The comparatively fast production of these parts makes it possible to respond quickly to new products and changing customer requirements. The design freedom also allows optimally shaped tools, even for fragile and complex product shapes (image). Schubert will show a selection of 3D tools which have been designed to date as well as those used in real systems, and will provide information on opportunities of the digital trend.