Several companies requiring precise label placement on their Print and Apply lines have turned to FOX IV Technologies, Inc., for turnkey solutions.
First, a security company required a Print and Apply system able to label security tags in series measuring less than an inch across with a pressure-sensitive barcode label measuring 5/8" long. The challenges to this application included throughput rates, label peeling, print quality and, most importantly, accuracy.
FOX IV employed a 6200 Series label printer applicator with a Zebra PAX print engine to handle throughput requirements greater than 70 tags per minute. With FOX IV equipment, peeling even these small labels fell within the standard specifications, and Zebra's print technology at 203 and 300 dpi combined with FOX IV labels and ribbon to ensure barcode quality.
FOX IV's rugged systems are built with precision and reliability in mind - tolerances approaching zero are common in a test environment. Even in an uncontrolled industrial climate, FOX IV was able to provide a PLC-controlled high-speed system able to repeatedly hit the tag.
Another customer - a light switch manufacturer - needed precise barcode label placement on the non-visible side of a switch. These labels, only 3/8" long, are still being printed, peeled and applied at throughput rates of about 60 per minute.
A third customer - a pharmaceutical supplier - required that two identical labels be placed on adjacent sides of a filled carton, with precisely .125" space between the edge of the carton and the side of each label.
FOX IV Technologies provided a complete turnkey system that included a Repeater dual-side application cylinder and redundant wipe-on and a customized FOX IV Sidewinder mounted on a standard FOX IV 4051 label printer applicator. The 4051 Standard is based on Intermec thermal transfer 406 dpi print technology. An 8 megabyte memory upgrade was provided. The Repeater" is an optional apply system used to apply two labels to a box or product; in this case, on the front and side. After exiting an automatic taper, product is metered by a box feeder, or brake, that holds the box until the preceding box is released from the labeling area. Four photoeye sensors stationed along the conveyor frame trigger the operation of the LPA. The sensors locate the product on the conveyor, ready the LPA for the print-and-apply operation, stop the box in, and release the box from, the apply station. The labels are applied by the "Touch-blo" method, which provides accurate label placement and strong adhesion through use of compressed air to blow the label onto the product once the applicator touches the surface. To ensure superior adhesion following label application the Sidewinder" rolls the labels.
The custom material handling system consists of: an 8 foot section of powered belt conveyor, built using a modular, extruded aluminum framing system; guide rails for positioning the product or box on the conveyor; a box feeder or box brake; a box stop; and two single color fault/warning beacons (one on the conveyor and one in a remote operator room).
The system has been designed to prevent a box from feeding into the system under certain conditions: if the LPA faults (such as out-of-labels, label not on pad or an out-of-sequence condition); if the Repeater arm is not extended in the ready position; if the exit gravity conveyor backs up into the label apply station. Labeling continues unless the Emergency Stop button is activated, a safety E-Stop mat is stepped on, or the LPA faults. In these cases the conveyor stops and both fault/warning beacons flash.
In addition to hardware, system integration, installation, start-up and training assistance were provided. A FOX IV label printer applicator cleaning kit was also part of the system package.