At the Czech brewery Pilsner Urquell, cartons with thin-walled and correspondingly sensitive 0.33 and 0.5 l non-returnable glass bottles are processed in cartons of different sizes. In preparation for the palletizer, the carton turning system rotates the packages 90 degrees so gentle that the bottles do not break.

Gentle carton turning system for fragile bottles

Our turning system takes over this task with rotating tunnels gripping the sensitive products from above. In addition to careful and product-friendly handling, this offers the advantage of largely trouble-free operation. The required output of 130 cartons per minute with careful product handling is achieved with two carton turning systems arranged one behind the other. Each turner grabs every second glass bottle carton in smooth operation. As the video shows, the systems still need little space.

All components of the carton turners are located above the conveyor. Thanks to this design, the carton rotator remains clear and easily accessible from the operator’s side.

Carton turning system for 5 different sizes

Adapting the carton rotator to the different carton sizes is easy. It is done in less than a minute. In the event of a product change, the turning system receives a signal from the higher-level controller and the new product format is shown on the display. The only thing the staff has to do is restart the system for a reference run. A display with all system-relevant data such as error messages and operating states is available to the operator.

Easy control of the carton turner

The control with photoelectric barriers, space monitoring between the cartons and a cross signal connection was purposely reduced to the minimum and therefore remained fairly simple. Up to ten different product formats can be selected manually or via the signal input. If the turning system shall rotate the boxes or let them through as they are coming, the controller can be expanded.

Installation of the two carton turning systems was easy. The system was pushed beside the conveyor from the rear and mounted. Commissioning was carried out quickly and without converting the existing conveyor belt. An important aspect in terms of costs and time, often the downtime of the entire line. So retrofit of the carton turning system, similar to our other systems, is not a big deal.