SACMI Packaging & Chocolate has recently unveiled HY7, a new multi-style flat-base praline wrapping machine that offers output rates as high as 700 pieces per minute.
Marketed under the Carle & Montanari name – the Group’s long-standing brand with no less than 110 years’ experience in the industry – this latest wrapping system has been developed to respond to today’s manufacturing/market challenges yet remains faithful to the firm’s long tradition of confectionery packaging excellence.
Year 2020 changed lifestyles and triggered new approaches to production and consumption. SACMI Packaging & Chocolate has responded with HY7, which features all the New Normal must-haves: efficiency, adaptability and a focus on sustainability.
Predictive maintenance capabilities make the machine highly efficient: once the ideal settings for each movement have been defined, early-stage diagnostics ensure real-time detection of any deviations and prevent downtimes. The system also allows for the early procurement of spare parts, ensuring tip-top maintenance.
The user-friendly HY7 is designed to handle even the most delicate or irregularly shaped chocolate/candy products with the utmost efficiency. Large, transparent guards maximise visibility, ensuring any problems (e.g. presence of scrap or dirt) are noticed immediately. Access to vital wrapping machine parts is made easy by the cantilevered structure, which characterises the overall machine concept. For example, the product feed area features a quick-disassembly conveyor belt system with cantilever framework and transparent guards to simplify troubleshooting.
Its extremely linear design and a greatly simplified drive train have resulted in few movements and few spare parts, simplified maintenance, lower Total Cost of Ownership compared to alternative solutions and greater reliability thanks to the solidity of all moving parts.
The HY7 is the first ‘hybrid’ technology wrapping machine. Design and operation are based not only on traditional mechanical transmission but also on high-performance, energy-efficient servo drives; moreover, the various machine units have 40% fewer components than previous models.
The ability to fine-tune each individual mechanism ensures repeatability of performance and consistent quality over time. Take, for example, the twister unit, which lets users set the optimal number of turns, thus making the bow as secure as possible. Or consider the folding unit, the individually motor-driven parts of which ensure flexible adaptation to both the product shape and the characteristics of the wrapping material. And, with such exceptional adaptability, the HY7 can look to the latest generation of eco-sustainable wrapping materials with confidence.
Designed around the concept of modularity, the machine consists of a standard base on which a project-specific perforated aluminum plate is mounted. The latter houses a series of interchangeable cantilever units (or ‘modules’), providing a tailor-made configuration that matches the customer’s needs on each individual project.
A few examples: the twister unit that defines the wrapping style (e.g. Side Twist, Double Twist or Top Twist) can co-exist with the folder unit for the Bunch, Envelope or Wrap-around Case styles. All thanks to ‘resident’ modules that let users make immediate style changes.
This configuration means customers can implement upgrades over time. For example, they can either add new wrapping styles without having to replace the machine, switch from random product outfeed to on-conveyor orientation or synchronise product feed by replacing a conventional holding-type system. The outcome ? Total freedom. As market demand changes, customers can re-think and re-purpose the machine, converting it to a cut & wrap or robotic feed configuration. This modularity concept is firmly future-focused.
To complete the picture, HY7 offers industry players another key feature, a compact footprint; what’s more, the electrical panel can be either on-board or remote depending on layout requirements and there’s also the option of right or left-hand set-up. Note also that the machine has tilted surfaces to prevent any build-up impurities and convenient trays for easy removal of all chocolate residues.
Furthermore, the entire wrapping area is completely oil-free, thereby eliminating any risk of product contamination: yet another feature that ensures exceptional hygiene and safety.
