“Extreme” block solution for greater flexibility

Round, rectangular, oval and grooved, with a screw cap, pump cap or atomiser: In few other industries are there as many different container and cap types – and hence product change-overs – as with products from the home and personal care (HPC) segment. That makes the filling of these liquids very complex, results in considerable loss of time due to change-overs and cleaning and usually requires a relatively large number of operators on the lines. “These are precisely the challenges we considered when developing the continua X3M. We wanted maximum flexibility,” explains Gianluca Franceschini, Product Specialist in Filling Technology at Kosme. “For about three to four years, we worked on our idea again and again, together with colleagues from different Krones departments. One team focused on the mechanical aspects, while another looked at the software.” The result: the new block – consisting of filler, labeller and capper – is an all-in-one solution that can handle almost any kind of container and cap – and with drastically reduced change-over and CIP times. 

An attractive solution 

This is made possible in part by a revolutionary container handling technology based on electric magnets: Two flexible grippers “levitate” over electromagnetic tracks, taking a container with them. It doesn’t matter what kind, because the grippers adjust effortlessly to any shape, transporting the containers via the labeller to the filler – without any need to change between the various types. “The solution with the grippers is actually simple, but that’s exactly what makes the whole thing so ingenious,” says Franceschini.  

The solution with the grippers is actually simple, but that’s exactly what makes the whole thing so ingenious. Gianluca FranceschiniProduct specialist in Filling Technology at Kosme

The Kosme team has thought up a solution for the frequent product change-overs in filling, too. Rather than taking place in the carousel, filling is performed linearly with two filler units of seven filling valves each, which are connected to a tankless solution. The advantage:  the two filler units can be operated separately, providing a real boost in flexibility. Either two different products can be filled into one bottle type in parallel or, when the product is changed over, only one filling module is used for the current product while the second one is already prepared for the new product. This means that the filling module can be used to process the new product while the other filling unit is being cleaned and changed over. Instead of scheduling a production stop, the machine can continue to run at half capacity. 

Change-overs at the cap feed unit also run entirely automatically: All the operating personnel has to do is to provide the parts to be changed over for the next cap type. The replacement itself is then performed by a robot. The same applies for work on the filler, with only changing over the capper and labeller now requiring manual intervention, some of which can even be done while production continues.  

Eagerly awaited 

The Continua X3M attracted a lot of attention when the innovation was presented for the first time at interpack in 2023, according to Franceschini, who adds: “We noticed that two aspects in particular set our solution apart from other machines at the trade fair: The flexible gripping system during container transport and the comparatively high speed. Now the first line has been sold.” The first prototype of the new block technology has already been completed and is now going through a test phase before being delivered to a customer later this year.  

But this is just the start of the journey for the Continua X3M: Going forward, there are plans to use the concept in the beverage and liquid food sector as well – all thanks to its extreme flexibility. Davy De Bock, Business Development Manager for HPC at Krones, confirms: “We decided to adapt this new setup to the needs of our customers in the home and personal care market. With ever new products and highly variable batch quantities, they are dependent on flexible production solutions. We strongly believe that this is the perfect starting point for our revolutionary technology to prove itself and evolve, so that it can be used in other fields such as food and beverage production in the medium term.”