Baumer releases monitoring system for corrugated boxes

KREFELD, Germany  - The Xcam Box Monitoring from Baumer hhs detects register inaccuracies of the individual inks in the printed image, wrongly cut or missing slots, skew sheets, faulty flap gluing or gaps deviating from the reference sizes.

The individual modules of the system cause automatic marking of all imperfect corrugated boxes, so that they can be ejected from the production workflow, and log all measuring results. The data can be retrieved from the Statistics module for analysis, making it possible to adapt the production process if necessary. In addition, the measuring results can be sent to the customer's process data acquisition system in the form of PDF or XML files. In this way, Xcam Box Monitoring can be seamlessly integrated in the process chains of the buyers of corrugated boxes.

"In inline corrugated board processing, our Xcam Box Monitoring systems can be combined with our non-contact flap gluing, including integrated quality control, to create an end-to-end basis for zero-defect production. At the same time, automated quality assurance significantly reduces cleaning and set-up times, as well as waste," said Thomas Fischer-Moore, Corrugated Board manager at Baumer hhs, summing up the benefits of his company's innovative quality assurance systems.

Control of the register accuracy of the printed images is handled by the Register Control module of the Xcam Box Monitoring system. It performs an inline check of the correct position of up to six different inks in the printed image relative to each other. The module detects all deviations and has a very high measuring and repeat accuracy of ± 0.05 mm. Even wavy or rough surfaces are no problem for the Register Control module. The statistical values measured reveal any trends, enabling the machine operators to intervene in the process before the register of the printed imaged exceeds the preset tolerances.

A solution for faulty slots, skew sheets

Faulty slots are another possible source of defects in corrugated box production. The Xcam Box Monitoring System Slot Depth Measurement function offers reliable, automatic control of their position and form. A high-resolution camera measures the depth of a front and rear slot on each blank – specifically the distance between the flap edges and the creases. The system detects not only every deviation from the reference values stored in the controller, but also any incorrect positioning. The same applies to missing cut-outs. In addition, the camera detects any cardboard fragments left in the slots.

Skew sheets are likewise detected by the Skew system checking the position of every single blank by means of two light barriers. If skew sheets exceed preselected tolerances, these boxes are likewise marked and can later be rejected.

Defects can also not be entirely ruled out in glue application – although the sophisticated technology of Baumer hhs’s gluing systems already minimises the possible sources of defects in itself. For instance, the robust, quick-acting, electric cold-glue application heads of the company’s system for non-contact flap gluing of corrugated board fundamentaAir Jordan Spizike 3.5