Folding-Carton Secondary Packaging Line for Chocolate Bars and M&M's Pouches

ZRAY delivered the secondary packaging line as one integrated sequence rather than a group of standalone machines. **Carton forming module.** The folding carton is erected and glue-sealed in line on a servo-driven forming mandrel, timed off the primary packer rather than off a separate indexer. Because forming quality is the gating item downstream, the module monitors mandrel position and glue application on every cycle. **Robotic vision cartoning module.** A vision system locates each incoming product and hands the coordinates to the robot, so the loader tolerates normal infeed variation instead of demanding a perfectly collated stream. When the product is a bagged snack, the controller checks that the load does not interfere with the carton lid before sealing. **Carton closing module.** Hot-melt application and lid closing are done in line, with compression time held constant regardless of line speed. **Case packing station.** Closed cartons are accumulated and packed into RSC shippers, so the line output leaves the cell as a shippable case. **Format handling.** The three pouch formats are stored as recipes. Changeover is a recipe selection plus the mechanical references called out in the HMI, which is what makes the 15-minute changeover achievable by the line's own operators. **Engineering challenge.** The project's difficulty was the combination of the two: holding folding-carton forming quality while loading at high speed without marking the product. Both were solved in the same module set, which is why ZRAY built and witnessed the line on representative product at its own plant before shipment.