Choose the Right Cartoning Machine with these 4 Insider Tips
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Finding a supplier of cartoning machines in China is just a piece of cake. With a random search on search engines and those B2B platforms like Alibaba and Made-in-China we can soon get mountains of companies at our options no matter if they are real manufacturers of trading companies.
Just like any “Red Ocean” market section, the one of caroning machine is of complete competition that a majority of the buyers would focus on price to make the decision of purchase, however, some tiny details people without background or knowledge around mechanical engineering may look over yet enact as critical factors for a successful implementation of the project and for long-run reliability of such an automated system.
Are you looking for your cartoning machine for the first time?
Read our guide for you to find out expert tips!
Introduction
Among all the secondary packaging machines and to review from the market share and portion and each type of them takes over this sector, cartoner machine is no doubt the category that is mostly widely used and sought by customers from all range of industries.
No matter whether you are from high-end markets like Europe or North America, or you may look to source an affordable option and pay great importance to the price, the concerns around buying a cartoning machine are basically the same – ensure a successful implementation. We hereby provide some insider tips and factors you should consider to find the right cartoning machine for your business.
Be Prudent with Low Price and Cheap Cartoning Machines
“Each buck counts for the quality.”
It would be like some kind of “daydream” but something everyone really looks forward to – European Quality at a Chinese Price, which is by no means something reasonable. In the past blog, we have discussed the downsides of “cheap cartoning machines” and we have studied how a low-quality cartoning machine is priced by looking through different concepts.
Cheap machines have their reasons to be low-priced. They could be made with the concession to quality, versatility, functions, safety, and durability.
There are several risks associated with cheap cartoning machines:
- Quality Issues: A typical quality issue with low-priced cartoning machines is the redundant use of coated and galvanized iron parts in stead of robust and solid stainless steel components. It is reasonable in order to keep the raw cost as low as possible now that a same part would 4 times more expensive if made of SUS compared to being processed as coated iron.
- Lack of Versatility: Cheap machines may have limited capabilities and be suitable for only specific types and sizes of cartons. This can restrict the range of products that can be packaged using the machine, limiting flexibility and scalability.
- Safety Issues: Cheap machines may not have the necessary safety features and mechanisms to protect operators from accidents and injuries. This can increase the risk of workplace accidents and potential legal liabilities.
- Higher long-term costs: Although the upfront cost of a cheap cartoning machine may be low, the long-term costs can be higher due to frequent breakdowns, increased maintenance, and reduced productivity. Investing in a higher-quality machine initially can often result in lower overall costs over the machine’s lifespan.
Consider the Output of your Existing Packaging Equipment
Though some would purchase a machine and use them in the form of stand-alone, secondary packaging machines are usually supposed to be connected to primary packaging machines like VFFS, HFFS, filling machines, automatic baggers, thermoformers, tray sealers, etc. The integration of a cartoning machine into your existing packaging equipment, if done correctly, can bring perfect automation without compromising its capacity.
The cartoning machine should be the additional equipment that provides automated packaging solutions to extend your packaging process rather than being such a bottleneck that will drag down your overall ROI of the line.
Defining whether a cartoning machine is correctly your option, you should consider the following factors:
Can the cartoning machine keep pace with inflow speed?
Theoretically, the cartoning machine must be faster the than configured speed of your existing equipment, rather than offer an exactly matched speed. This is not only to ensure that the cartoning machine does not become the bottleneck but as well to avoid congestion along the packaging line.
Consider the pattern of outflow from your existing equipment
A specific kind of cartoning machine will have limited capability in handling inflow in terms of the pattern they are coming in. For example, a vertical cartoning machine can be incorporated with a VFFS directly in a way that the formed bags can drop directly into the box from the vertical open end, while this is impossible for a horizontal end-load cartoning machine.
Don’t Complicate Things – a Standalone Cartoning Machine Can be Better
Implementing automation is a good option to save manual and labor costs. Nevertheless, the mania with automated packaging can result in a more complicated situation where you will be spending more money without much improvement in terms of savings or packaging efficiency.
It happens that a standalone machine would be better than having your production line fully automated.
We once handled a project for which the client asked to automate their process starting from an 8-lane VFFS from which bags of powder are discharged in a random manner.
The requirements were:
- Install a system that arranges the bags in an organized manner – with a bag unscrambler
- Stack the bags into the desired format and feed them onto a cartoning machine
- A cartoning machine that packs the bags into boxes
The complete line costs some USD 90,000 but little improvement is seen in terms of output, since the bag unscrambler eliminates bags that are in unwanted direction on the inflow and thus causing a bottleneck. Then the factory still needs bunches of people to monitor the machines and systems involved in this line.
On the contrary, should we adopt a standalone cartoning machine with a bag and sachet feed and stacking system on which the operator is supposed to load bags manually, we can expect all the bags to be fully automated for the cartoning and look forward to better output.
Audit Your Cartoning Machine Supplier and Make Sure They are Reliable
- “We are the leading manufacturer”
- “We have a factory of 6000 square meters”
- “We have 20 years of history”
- “We install 1,000 equipment every year”
- “We are a factory”
If you ask any company in China whether they are a factory or a trading company and reseller, you will always get the same answer – “We are the factory”.
We are not addressing this issue in a way that you should work with the factory only and avoid resellers. The key idea with this suggestion is to avoid working with dishonest suppliers – who cheat and lie to you ever since the very beginning.
The popular trick of them is placing photos of factories, workers dressing in uniform with company logos as well as machines with logoed labels so as to give an impression that they are the manufacturer, but unfortunately, all such seemingly convincing proof can be fake in fact.
Key Takeaways
For your long-term reliability with the cartoning machine to be installed, be sure to stay reasonable, don’t be such a fish that follow the bait, and also study beyond the machine itself including reviewing your true automation needs and investigating whether it makes sense to fully automate your packaging or just to implement a standalone machine.
