Label Applicator for Paper Mill

Scope:

The customers process required a machine to place labels on the outside of a plastic wrapped roll of paper. They required 1 to 3 labels to be placed on the roll in multiple different orientation to allow their customer to view the labels from any direction. Their was very limited space to add any additional machinery. There was a set of turning rollers available but was located inside an existing roll strapping station.

Description:

A stand-alone machine was designed to mount over the wrapline to carry the labels to the roll of paper located on the turning rollers inside the strapper. A Gudel 3-Axis gantry system was used to hold a conveyor system that was designed to apply labels to the roll. The labels have a dry glue gum backing which required water to activate the glue before placing on the roll. 

The labels were printed from a Lotz Industrial Printer. This was used to keep the laser printer and labels out of the harsh environment of a paper mill production area.

An Allen-Bradly ControlLogix PLC with Ultra 3000 servo drives were used to control the 3-Axis gantry. This allows very precise placement of the label. Messaging was done to the existing PLC to indicate when to apply the labels.