tna has launched the tna ropac 5, an ultra-high-speed case packer for flexible bags that is capable of industry-leading speeds of up to 300 bags per minute.
Part of the company’s performance 5.0 packaging system, the new case packer is the first and only side-load case packer in the world that uses the company’s unique, patented semi-rotary bag stacking technology to quickly and efficiently pack small to medium, pillow-style snack bags into secondary containers.
With its innovative, highly compact design, the new case packer doubles the industry’s average case packing speeds, offering snack food manufacturers high throughput, equipment reliability and one of the smallest machine footprints.
Unlike the majority of case packers that employ vacuum pick and drop technology, the tna ropac is based on the company’s own semi-rotary bag stacking motion. Using continuously revolving horizontal platforms that can accommodate multiple rows of bags, the proprietary system is able to quickly and efficiently form, lower and side-load vertical stacks of bags into a secondary container such as a box.
As a result of this highly innovative, ultra-high-speed stacking technology, the case packer is capable of packaging up to 300bpm, making it the world’s fastest case packer for flexible bags. The semi-rotary bag stacking system also avoids bags being gripped and dropped by vacuum heads, ensuring that each bag is handled with the utmost care, minimising the risk of product breakage and missed bags.
In addition, the case packer features semi-automatic, tool-less changeovers that take less than 10 minutes to complete, offering manufacturers complete flexibility over bag and case size. Together with the overall simplicity in design of the case packer featuring a low number of moving parts compared to competitor models, the company’s innovative technology ensures that there is less wear and tear of the equipment’s components for superior equipment reliability, ultimate ease of maintenance and complete investment security.
The case packer also requires minimal power and air due to the low amount of pneumatic actuators and the semi-rotary action that avoids reciprocating motion. As a result, operating costs are reduced significantly and manufacturers are able to achieve a much more sustainable production.
Designed to use the minimum amount of factory footprint, the case packer is one of the most compact side-loading case packers in the industry and can be seamlessly integrated with any upstream and downstream equipment, including check weighers, case erectors and top sealers. With a width of only 1220mm, the tna ropac 5 was specifically built to fit in line of the VFFS system, enabling manufacturers to place a case packer after every single bagger.
It even allows for the installation of two case packers in twin configuration for the most efficient use of factory floor space. In addition, the case packer only measures 2120mm in height, opening up the possibility to add a case erector on a mezzanine floor level above the case packer, further maximising the use of the space available.