Inline carton feeder aids pharma traceability

Ensuring that on-pack information such as two-dimensional barcodes, batch numbers and expiry dates is printed clearly is an important step towards making medicines traceable all the way back to the manufacturer. Regulators around the world have been ramping up traceability requirements for medical packaging in recent years to help combat the problem of fake medicines, as well to facilitate more effective product recalls in case of a manufacturing issue.

"They require data to be legible so it can be scanned at any stage from the manufacturer, right down to the pharmacy that’s dispensing it,” says Rotech director Richard Pether. "Our RF-Line Feeder ensures they are stable and orientated correctly as they approach the printer. This technique is vital if a excellent print quality is to be achieved.”

The Rotech inline feeder uses a patent-pending drive arrangement to operate the top and bottom belts in perfect synch so the cartons cannot become skewed. "The top belt is driven mechanically from the bottom belt using a single drive. It keeps the whole thing simple and makes it very cost-effective compared to some competing systems that use two drives,” says Pether. 

The drive is also positioned in the centre of the feeder, leaving both ends of the conveyor clear and making it easier to integrate the system within existing packaging lines. A compact overall conveyor length of just 750mm also makes it easier to squeeze the RF-Line feeder into a tight space. 

The system accepts pre-formed cartons, passes them first through the end user’s chosen printer and then past a camera to spot any defects, which are ejected from the line using compressed air. 

The height of the top belt is adjustable to accommodate primary cartons from 15 to 125mm high. The feeder can also handle cartons with a width from 55 to 200mm and length of up to 150mm at conveyor speeds of up to 60m/min. The on-board HMI makes it quick and easy to adjust the system for different pack sizes.