Solution for Australian Hardware Parts Production Line-Automated Bagging, Boxing, and Palletizing
The Australian customer specializes in hardware accessory assembly and packaging, with products including brackets, bolts, and a magnetic driver. Their existing press line produces brackets at up to 50 strokes per minute (SPM), while bolts and drivers are sourced separately. The customer requires a fully automated packaging line integrating bagging, printing, check-weighing, box erecting, case packing, sealing, labelling, palletizing, and stretch wrapping.
Table of Contents
Key Demands:
- Automated bagging for two configurations:
- 6-pack: 6 brackets, 6 bolts, and 1 driver. Total bag weight: ~400g.
- 10-pack: 10 brackets, 10 bolts. Total bag weight: ~610g.
- Direct conveyor link from press line to bagging machine – press runs at 50 SPM, requiring high-speed synchronization.
- Separate hopper feeding for bolts and drivers – Drivers contain magnets, causing them to stick together. The supplier has a history of mixing wrong parts , so a bowl feeder capable of detecting wrong parts is mandatory.
- Neat arrangement of brackets inside bag to minimise shipping volume.
- Manual Euro hole stamping and manual cardboard insertion before box loading.
- Target bagging speed: 8 bags per minute (stable production rate).
- Post-bagging operations:
- Automatic box erecting
- Bag loading into cartons
- Box sealing and labeling
- End-of-line check-weighing
- Robotic palletizing
- Pallet stretch wrapping
Proposed Solution – Complete Hardware Packaging Line
Based on the above requirements, we propose a modular, high-efficiency automated packaging solution integrating the following core equipment: horizontal pillow-type bagging machine, automatic cartoning machine, in-motion checkweigher, robotic palletizer, and turntable stretch wrapping machine. Below is the detailed system design.
1 Automatic Bagging System – Horizontal Pillow Packing Machine
We recommend a servo-driven horizontal pillow-type bagging machine (flow wrap machine) equipped with one vibratory bowl feeder for screws counting. The brackets must be manually neatly sorted, counted, and placed onto the machine conveyor. The magnetic driver also requires manual placement on the conveyor due to its magnetism.
A vertical bagging machine (as shown in the picture below) is not recommended. When 6 or 10 brackets drop into the vertical machine, they become loose and can easily get stuck in the machine tunnel.
1.1 Driver magnet issue:
For the magnetic driver, you can ask your supplier to pre-pack each driver individually in a small bag before shipping. Once bagged individually, the drivers will no longer stick together.
1.2 Screw feeding method:
For bolts/screws, we can add a hopper directly above the horizontal wrap machine. However, this may require a longer bag length to allow space for screws as they drop, preventing the cutter from damaging them. Testing with your actual screws is needed. If not feasible, we can add a separate small bagging machine above the wrap machine (as shown in the video).
1.3 Bag hole & film roll:
We recommend making the hole directly during bag forming on the machine (see picture below). Roll film is much cheaper than pre-made bags.
1.4 Use direct coding, BOPP Composite film bags. Labels & bar code printed on bags.
Direct coding is convenient and has low consumable costs. However, it requires the bag material to be highly absorbent and the ribbon to be of high quality. The factory environment must avoid excessive humidity, direct sunlight, or contact with alcohol. Direct coding may also erode the bag surface, and the barcode reading success rate can be affected. Therefore, we recommend pre-printing a background colour on the bag to provide high contrast, which improves barcode readability.
2 Add a weight detection system after bagging to verify correct quantities of screws, driver&tensioner.
3 Automatic Cartoning Line – Case Erector, Loading, Sealing, Labelling
3.1 Box erector:
A fully automatic case erector (box erector machine) opens cardboard blanks, folds bottom flaps, and tapes them – adjustable for different box sizes corresponding to 6/10-pack volumes.
3.2 Bag loading into box
With this design, bags fall directly into the box below. A sensor counts the number of bags dropped. This setup has lower cost, but still requires manual sorting to ensure the bags are neatly arranged inside the box. Otherwise, the bag pile may exceed the box height before sealing.The wrapping machine height is approximately 1000 mm, so the box roller conveyor height is around 800 mm. Our workers are taller than Chinese workers, so this height difference is acceptable for manual operation.
3.3 Box sealing machine: After loading, boxes move into a fully automatic case sealer using hot melt glue or pressure-sensitive tape, providing strong bottom and top sealing.
3.4 Labeling system: A print-and-apply labeler is mounted post-sealer. It prints variable data (product code, batch, destination) and applies labels on two adjacent sides of the box. Box Label 155 x 75 mm.
3.5 End weigher checker for boxes: A heavy-duty in-motion checkweigher verifies each sealed box’s gross weight. Any mismatch triggers a reject pusher.
4 Robotic Palletizing System
25 bags of 6 pack , 96 boxes = 96 x 10.175 = 976.8 kg .
25 bags of 10 pack , 96 boxes = 96 x 15.5 = 1,488 kg .
15 bags of 10 pack , 96 boxes = 96 x 9.390 = 901.44 kg .
5 Pallet Stretch Wrapping Machine
Finally, full pallets are conveyed to a turntable automatic stretch wrapping machine.Our pallet dimensions are 1120 x 1100 x 1250 height, 1100 height without base .
System Integration and Performance Summary
| Station | Equipment | Speed / Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Bagging | Horizontal pillow wrapper + vibratory bowl feeders | 8 bags/min |
| Bag checkweighing | In-motion checkweigher | ±0.5g |
| Box erecting | Automatic case erector | 8-10 boxes/min |
| Box loading | Pusher-type loader | sync with bagging |
| Box sealing + labeling | Case sealer + print-apply labeller | up to 10 boxes/min |
| Box checkweighing | Heavy-duty checkweigher | ±2g per box |
| Palletizing | palletizing robot | 8-10 cycles/min |
| Pallet wrapping | Turntable stretch wrapper | 30-40 pallets/hour |
All equipment is controlled by a centralised PLC with HMI, featuring fault diagnosis, production counting, and recipe storage for 6-pack vs. 10-pack changeovers.
