ILAPAK Verpackungsmaschinen GmbH

This successor to the Carrera 1000 responds to the budget, build quality and flexibility requirements of mid-range food and non-food operations. ILAPAK has balanced these demands by rationalising the number of added features and re-engineering the machine frame design and sealing system.

ILAPAK launched its original Carrera 1000 in 2014, and the flow wrapper has since earned a reputation as a reliable workhorse for the full gamut of food industry applications, from bakery, biscuits, snacks and confectionery to IQF, fresh produce and ice cream.

This latest addition to the Carrera portfolio incorporates incremental innovations that have enabled ILAPAK to stretch the performance: price ratio of the system. A radical re-engineering of the machine frame has produced the first ILAPAK flow wrapper with a tubular frame for added robustness, whilst on the sealing system, heavy duty shafts and surrounding bearings allow for greater and more consistent seal-jaw pressure. This improved jaw profile results in superior seal appearance and integrity.

The Carrera 1500 slots neatly into ILAPAK’s range between the entry-level Smart and the newly launched dedicated bakery industry Carrera 5000, with the high-spec, high-speed Carrera 6000 ILAPAK’s top performing flow wrapper.

In contrast with the manually fed  Smart, the Carrera 1500 can either be configured with manual or automatic feeding, giving users the option to integrate the flow wrapper within a fully automated continuous workflow. Optional extras include a dual film reel holder and automatic film reel splicing – features that contribute to overall line efficiency. 

The Vegatronic 6400 is an evolution of ILAPAK’s top performing Vegatronic 6000 bagger, which has been developed and adapted to meet the specific demands of meat industry in terms of sanitary design, accessibility, fast changeover and OEE (overall equipment effectiveness). Open frame design, IP66 rated electrical components, easy removable forming tube and a cantilever film reel shaft are among the features that combine to make the Vegatronic 6400 the most efficient and hygienic meat industry bagger on the market today.

“The Vegatronic 6000 was introduced five years ago, and in that time, we have talked to customers in various food industry sectors to establish what aspects they like and how the bagger could be enhanced for their specific applications. The clear message from the frozen meat industry was that sanitary design and uptime are the two most important criteria, so we have acted on that.” 

Sanitary design has been achieved by keeping aluminium components to a minimum (moving parts only) and using high quality stainless steel for the majority of parts. The film reel carriage, film rollers and bearings, for example, are all full stainless steel construction. Thoughtful engineering has resulted in a machine that has minimal flat surfaces and recesses where dust and debris can accumulate. All parts on the main frame of the bagger are made from rounded components, the splicing table and forming tube support are inclined, the top of the electrical cabinet is sloped and the protective plate above the bagger is apex shaped. The Vegatronic 6400 is also a full washdown bagger; all electronic and electrical parts are sealed to IP66 or higher and open frame architecture allows ready access for cleaning. The open frame design also maximises uptime, as engineers and operators have full accessibility to the front and side of the machine, which makes for easy maintenance.

Efficiency on the Vegatronic 6400 has been enhanced in a number of ways. The splicing table is vacuum assisted, making it very quick to operate, the forming tube is mounted on a swivel arm for easy removal and the film reel shaft is both pneumatically activated and cantilever – making film reel changeovers much quicker than on machines with a drop-in shaft. The Vegatronic 6400 can also be equipped with a dual reel holder and automatic splicing system to further enhance efficiency. The machine is designed with short drop heights to prevent breakage of brittle frozen products and support high speed operation.

The Vegatronic 6400 is targeted to the needs of the IQF protein market, but is also well suited to frozen produce and cheese – indeed any market that has stringent hygiene requirements. The ideal solution for medium/large bags, it can produce pillow packs with or without MAP with a maximum film width of 830mm from laminated films, HDPE, LDPE or biodegradable/compostable materials.

The Weightronic 1000L presents a versatile alternative to rival vibratory systems - which tend to be dedicated to a particular product - and can switch easily between fruit and veg items such as potatoes, onions, green beans, citrus fruits and brussel sprouts. This flexibility is due to features such as quick-change vibratory channels and weighing buckets that allow for tool-less changeovers between different types and sizes of products. For delicate products, special features such as minimised drops and adapted collector bins ensure gentle handling.

The centrepiece of ILAPAK’s new suite of counting systems is the state-of-the-art Vision 2000, which offers a flexible, accurate and low-noise alternative to conventional vibratory counters.

Using advanced line scan camera technology, the Vision 2000 counts and feeds baked goods into boxes or the infeed of a VFFS machine. Speeds of up to 100,000 products per hour with over 99% accuracy can be achieved.

The Vision 2000 offers complete flexibility in terms of product type, shape and size. It can accommodate fresh, par-baked, frozen and difficult-to-handle raw dough products, whether baguettes, pretzel sticks, rolls, bagels, donuts or croissants.

Key to the flexibility of the belt-based system is a powerful line scan camera. The images are overlaid to produce a ‘real time’ picture of the product flow, and intelligent software processes this image to calculate when the target number per pack has been reached. Batches are separated via pneumatically controlled ‘fingers’.

Whilst there are competing systems on the marketplace, ILAPAK’s vision counter boasts the fastest available camera technology and a unique emphasis on hygiene and accessibility. This is reflected in the unrivalled build quality of the machine, which is constructed from stainless steel and superior grade plastics for easy cleaning and simple maintenance.