Feed the Blister Packaging Machine — Part I

An automated packaging machine of any type can only operate as fast as it can be fed the products being packaged. Where filler-capper systems and cartoners typically come standard with automated product infeed systems, the same is not true for blister packaging machines. 

Blister packaging machines load pre-formed blisters into a die tray that holds multiple blisters. Multiple die trays on the machine’s indexing system may be placed in a straight line or on a rotary table that moves the die tray from blister placement to blister loading and finally to blister sealing. Each blister must be loaded precisely so overhanging product does not impede the machine’s automated sealing process. At the same time, each blister must be loaded quickly enough to allow the blister packaging machine to achieve the necessary production rate.

Die Tray for 6-Up Blisters on a Sonoco Alloyd Aergo-8 Rotary-Style Blister Packaging Machine (Photo by ESS Technologies.)

A blister packaging line’s available space can also limit production rate. Large blister packaging machines include multiple loading stations on both sides of the machine. Operators pick and place product into the blisters as quickly and accurately as possible to avoid the machine indexing empty blisters or loading blisters with overhanging product, both of which waste materials and will cause machine downtime after consecutive faults. More operators can better maintain the required production speed, but the systems occupy significant floor space. Smaller blister packaging machines save on valuable factory floor space, but they offer fewer product loading stations, restricting the machine’s potential production rate. In either scenario, manual labor is required, putting human operators at risk for repetitive motion injuries. 

A Very Large and a Very Compact Straight Line Blister Packaging Machine, both Alloyd Aergo-SLs (Photos by ESS Technologies.)

By automating the blister loading process with a pick and place robotic cell, such as ESS’s TaskMate Robotic Systems® Blister Loader, manufacturers of blister-packaged products can achieve maximum production rates while minimizing downtime and conserving available space. This solution is ideal for blister packages that contain only one type of product. ESS’s compact, automated blister loading solution integrates a FANUC multi-axis robot with ESS-designed end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) to create a fast and reliable means of loading blisters. (ESS is an authorized system integrator for FANUC America robots.) Integrating such a system increases speed and efficiency and allows valuable human resources to be redeployed to more demanding parts of the packaging process. 

Advantages to Automated Blister Loading

Flexibility and Fast Changeover

Robotic EOAT offers both to manufacturers using blister packaging machines to package their products. A single robotic cell can handle a wide range of products, depending on the manufacturer’s requirements. Provided that each SKU uses a die tray configured for the same reach, fast-changeover EOAT can be designed to pick multiple products with each cycle. A spreading feature enables the EOAT to populate multiple blisters at a time. By incorporating quick release pneumatic connections and thumbscrews, a robotic end effector can be quickly removed and replaced with a new EOAT to handle a different product. This has significant advantages in packaging lines that use shorter runs for independent SKUs. Robotic blister loading systems integrate easily with new or existing blister packaging lines.

Spreading EOAT for Loading Multiple Blisters Per Cycle (Photos by ESS Technologies.)

Reduce Waste and Downtime

Misfeeds, incomplete loading, and empty blister feeding all represent sources of waste, especially in the production of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which are, for the most part, still manually fed to horizontal form-fill-seal systems and blister packaging machines. Packaging machines are designed to cease operation after multiple faults, a cause of line downtime for all manufacturers. Integrated robotics equipped with line tracking and vision provide an ideal solution for careful blister loading to minimize machine faults. In addition to providing multiple picks per cycle, multi-axis robots with line tracking and integrated vision systems maintain continuity with the packaging machine and can verify product placement and product quality.

Line Tracking EOAT Picks Multiple Syringes on a Continuous Infeed Conveyor (Photo by ESS Technologies.)

Maximize Valuable Human Resources and Reduce Personal Injury to Workers

Automated blister loading allows manufacturers to better train and utilize personnel in areas of the production process unsuited to automation. By integrating robots to feed the blister packaging machine, packagers can increase productivity without increasing personnel, reducing labor costs. As labor shortages continue in many manufacturing sectors, robotic automation offers a means to meet production demands.

Even if finding workers is not a concern for manufacturers, the work of manually loading blisters might be. Repetitive motion can result in carpal tunnel syndrome, a long-term injury caused by the compression of the median nerve in the wrist. This compression results in numbness, pain, burning, and weakened grip strength. Robots cannot be injured by repetitive motion, and they suffer no loss of work due to illness, reducing injury to workers and line downtime.

An Automated Solution

ESS engineers designed the TaskMate Robotic Systems® Blister Loader to integrate easily with blister packaging machines. The compact system allows manufacturers to fully automate the blister loading process. Several FANUC robot models may be specified, depending on the requirements of the application, including the new CRX-10iA collaborative robot that FANUC America designed to work alongside humans without the need for safety guarding. 

At a recent industry trade show, ESS and OEM partner Sonoco Alloyd, a manufacturer of blister packaging machines and blister packaging materials, demonstrated a collaborative robotic loader integrated with Alloyd’s most recent sealing machinery, the Aergo SSL, a fully servo-driven straight-line packaging machine. The collaborative FANUC CRX-10iA robot stopped immediately if it contacted anything solid, eliminating the need for safety guarding. ESS designed the EOAT to pick and place two products (tissue packs) per cycle. The blister packaging machine sealed the tissue packages into paper blisters and discharged them two at a time for a rate of 24 blister packs per minute. Click here to see the Aergo-SSL and TaskMate Robotic Systems® Blister Loader in action. (YouTube link opens in new window).

Alloyd Compact Straight Line Blister Packaging Machine with Collaborative Robotic Loader (Photos by ESS Technologies.)

ESS and Alloyd have partnered in the past, integrating non-collaborative robot models such as the FANUC LR Mate 200iD. The LR Mate Series offers higher speeds than collaborative robots. The compact size allows the robotic cell to be integrated seamlessly at the blister loading station to keep required floor space to a minimum. Robotic blister loading systems may be integrated with new blister packaging machines or retrofitted with existing blister packaging lines to automate previously manual loading processes.

LR Mate 200iD Robotic Loader Integrated with New Blister Packaging Machine (Photo by ESS Technologies.)

Integrated robotic cells allow blister packaging machines to run at maximum production rates. Multi-axis robots easily keep up with die tray indexing to accurately load blisters one or more at a time. The increased blister loading speed achieved with robotics integration allows manufacturers to reduce the number of required loading stations, which reduces the machine footprint. 

Single-product blister loading is still the most common type of configuration. One product per blister, one robot, one infeed system. Simple. But what if the blister needed to contain more than one item? What if the blister package was actually an entire tray of components? Could a robotic solution handle that capacity? Find out in “Feed the Blister Packaging Machine — Part II,” coming soon.