Company: Syntegon Technology

Website: www.syntegon.com

Equipment Snapshot: Syntegon Technology has launched its new Kliklok ACE (Advanced Carton Erector) carton former platform at its virtual show booth. Visitors could join the online reveal of the new machine from the site in Bristol, U.K. The Syntegon virtual show is running until May 13.

Based on customer requirements, the Kliklok ACE was developed with a particular focus on ergonomic design, sustainability, and increased efficiency. The newly integrated “Flex Feeder” ensures a reliable and safe carton control throughout the entire process. “The new carton former platform combines high-speed forming capabilities with a generous carton size range, giving manufacturers a lot of flexibility,” Janet Darnley, product manager at Syntegon Technology in Decatur, U.S., says. The Kliklok ACE range runs at up to 80 cycles per minute with single, double or triple head and is suited for a number of food applications, such as bakery, snacks, cereal bars, frozen/prepared food, tea and coffee, as well as non-food products.

The new Kliklok ACE carton former can form lock-style and glue-style cartons on the same machine, offering manufacturers full flexibility. Syntegon Technology also provides the machine with ultrasonic technology, an industry first in this segment. Both, the lock and ultrasonic versions, are glue-free, making them a real sustainable option. The Kliklok ACE range can handle different carton format sizes, ranging from a blank size of 190 mm length x 122mm wide to 800mm length x 600mm wide.

As a contribution to their customers’ economic success, the packaging experts at Syntegon Technology developed the machine with a new Flex Feeder. The solution offers positive carton control, transferring the cartons reliably from the forming process to the machine exit. “This reduces the risk of jams within the machine, causing stops and downtime,” Darnley explains. The Kliklok ACE is also capable of running paper board or corrugated material.

Syntegon Technology also put an emphasis on an ergonomic design machine. The carton hopper, which operators load manually, was designed at waist height. This makes the feeding process more operator friendly. Overall, the machine allows tool-less changeovers, which supports vertical start-up. The machine is built in an open frame stainless-steel design, which is IP 54 rated.

To offer customers a future-proof solution, the Kliklok ACE is not only available with a single head system, but also a double or triple head system, which offers more flexibility in terms of speed and size change between these different configurations. “At the virtual booth, we showcase the machine with a double head system for typical carton sizes, which runs at 60 cycles per minute with an output of 120 cartons per minute, using a lock closure,” Darnley says.

Compared to the previous machine series, the Kliklok ACE has a smaller footprint overall. The new on-board electrics eliminate the need for a control cabinet. “This solution not only saves a lot of space but is also easy to access for troubleshooting. In addition, since no cabinet is needed, the process no longer requires air conditioning, which is more efficient and sustainable,” Darnley explains.

With an installed basis of more than 2,500 carton formers worldwide, Syntegon Technology, formerly Bosch Packaging Technology, has extensive experience in secondary packaging for customer specifications of any kind. The portfolio comprises complete solutions from processing to bagmaking, settling and handling to cartoning and case packing. At the virtual show, Syntegon Technology not only unveiled the new Kliklok ACE, but is also displayed the Kliklok MEC Midrange Endload Cartoner with a cascade loader for a single source bag-in-box solution.