The Automatic Packaging Pro for Outserts

The folding machine specialist Herzog & Heymann, a member of the MBO Group, based in Bielefeld, Germany, adds a high level of automation to its portfolio of pharmaceutical folding systems, with the addition of the new SmartPack100.

Pharmaceutical inserts are produced on folding machines that take large sheets of paper and fold them down to very small dimensions.  As the panel count goes up, so goes the thickness, making it difficult for machine operators to handle the production. The newest machines being built, have as many as 24 fold plates in the first folding unit, giving rise to a very significant thickness and build rate.   Herzog + Heymann engineers recognized that common manual delivery systems are just too cumbersome in this environment, which led to the development of an automated tray packing system.

The SmartPack 100 from Herzog & Heymann,  automatically performs all quality checks on the product, stands the products on end, and fills the packaging trays; all with no human intervention. This packaging champ is capable of handling the full range of tray sizes commonly used in the USA..

The maximum tray length of 1060mm provides the machine operator with more time so that he can monitor the machine while also doing other activities. The SmartPack 100 automatically introduces the empty trays, and once full, are transported to a separate table.  The outfeed table has a high capacity allowing several trays to be stored, affording plenty of dwell time.

We are happy to report that the Korean customer accepted the entire folding line with an output of 10,000 outserts per hour!

Monitoring by Camera

To make sure that all folded products meet the highest quality standard, the SmartPack100 is equipped with a camera system that has the ability to take three dimensional measurements of the folded outserts prior to being passed to the traying area. If a faulty product is detected, it will be extracted before reaching the traying unit.

A Liaison to the Pharma Industry

Herzog & Heymann’s product manager Jannik Mueller has been supporting the Korean distribution partner, Mueller Korea Co. Ltd., since 2016. The CEO of the company Nakyeon Cho has excellent business relationships with the local pharma companies. Besides the actual pharmaceutical products these companies also print and fold the package inserts under the same roof.

Subsequent Orders

The customer received his first H+H folding machine in 2013. The SmartPack 100 is the third piece of H+H equipment that the customer purchased. In order to optimize the two existing folders the customer decided to order two more H+H SmartPack 100 machines which were delivered in late 2019.