Cartoning System

The Nexus Australia cartoning system erects cartons from flat blanks, loads product into them and seals them, as one integrated end-of-line machine. Also called a cartoning machine, carton machine or carton packing system, it is built around a carton erector, a robotic or mechanical product loader and a carton taping or gluing station, and is supplied and supported Australia-wide.

How it works

Flat carton blanks are stacked in a magazine. The carton erector pulls one blank, opens it and folds the base so the carton stands ready. Products arrive from the upstream line and are placed into the open carton by a robotic pick and place head or a mechanical pusher. The loaded carton passes to the closing station, where flaps are folded and the carton is taped or hot-melt glued shut. Sealed cartons move to the outfeed for labelling, coding and palletising.

Carton handling solutions in the system

• Carton erector: forms cartons from flat blanks at line speed, for RSC shipping cases and retail cartons alike.
• Product loading: robotic applications place products into the cartons with consistent, gentle handling that reduces product damage. A delta robot pick and place head handles high-rate loading of bottles, pouches and flow-wrapped items; a mechanical pusher suits regular collations.
• Carton taping or gluing: seals the finished carton for tamper-evident packaging.
• Coding and labelling: a print and apply labeller applies a shipping label with variable data, or a valve jet printer codes directly onto the board.
• Palletising: a cobot palletiser stacks the sealed cartons at the end of the line.

Carton types

Regular slotted cases (RSC) for shipping, tuck-end and crash-lock retail cartons, trays and display cartons. The erector and closer are set up to the blank, and a change of carton size is a recipe recall with guide adjustments.

Products and collations

Bottles, jars and cans into shipping cases; pouches, sachets and stick packs into retail cartons and shelf-ready trays; flow-wrapped bars and bakery items into display cartons; tubs and cups into trays. Collation patterns from a single item up to 24 or more per carton are programmed on the controller.

Safety and compliance

The cartoning system and its robotic loader are designed and manufactured to meet safety standards for a secure working environment, with interlocked guarding around the robot cell and light curtains at the magazine and outfeed so operators can reload without stopping the line.

Customised solutions

The cartoning machine and robotic applications are tailored to the product, the carton and the required output. Options include a second loading station for inserts or leaflets, a checkweigher before sealing, and vision verification of the collation before the carton closes.

Benefits

• Labour: replaces manual carton erecting, packing and taping with one operator keeping the magazine loaded.
• Consistency: every carton is formed, packed and sealed the same way, which cuts damage and rework.
• Throughput: keeps pace with the filling or wrapping line upstream so the end of line is no longer the bottleneck.
• Presentation: square, cleanly sealed cartons stack better and look better on the shelf.

Industries

Food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and personal care, household chemicals, e-commerce and contract packing.

Lead time, installation and after-sales support

Allow about 75 days from order to shipment for a standard cartoning system, and 90 to 120 days for a complex application, plus freight and installation. Every machine is quoted individually, since the configuration depends on your product, container and line speed.

Installation and commissioning are done by Nexus technicians in every state and territory. They travel interstate as required, and for a complex line the manufacturer sends an engineer to work with them. Recent installations have gone into Perth, Melbourne, Shepparton, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Nexus also supplies customers in New Zealand.

Support after the sale covers machines supplied by Nexus: training for your operators, preventive maintenance, spare parts and technical help. If the machine stops, we work through it with you by phone or video call for free, and if it needs someone on site we send a Nexus technician or an approved contractor in your state. Common spares are stocked in Australia, and the warranty is 12 months return-to-base, excluding wear parts. Nexus Australia is a member of APPMA, the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association.

Related systems

A cartoning system usually follows a filling system or bagging line and precedes palletising. See the labelling system range for carton and case labelling, and the robotics range for loading and palletising options.

Send us your product, your carton blank and your target cartons per minute, and we will lay out the system. Contact Nexus Australia for a quote on a cartoning machine.