Solutions by Industry

Problem: A toy manufacturer in the Midwest was expanding operations to a new distribution facility. The new facility required bottom case sealers at the beginning of a packaging line and top case sealers at the very end. The equipment would be used in a “pick and pass” method fulfillment warehouse that produces in excess of 30,000 packages per day during peak periods. The boxes to be sealed would be void filled and processed in random order.

Only equipment with a past history of performance was chosen to be tested. Little David equipment was chosen to be tested because of its proven track record for reliability. The equipment was tested against a tape manufacturer’s line of equipment.

Again, the toy manufacturer needed equipment that could seal different size, tall, unstable, lightweight and void filled boxes processed in random order. There are two main areas of concern in sealing this type of box. First, is box crushing. Second, if the box is handled too gingerly, the flaps tend to open slightly and the box is not closed tightly. Both the concern for box crushing and flap opening are compounded even further when there are a range of box sizes processed in random order. Equipment must now continuously adjust to the various widths and box heights. The Little David LDX-RTB was designed to handle these problems.

Solution : For the test, the Little David LD-3SB random bottom only taper was chosen at the beginning of the line and the Little David LDX-RTB for the end of the packaging line. The package process began with the generation of a printed order form which indicates the box size required for fulfillment. The proper size box is selected, manually formed and placed into the LD-3SB to be bottom sealed. The required products are picked and placed directly into the box. Boxes pass via conveyer to the loose fill area. After the boxes are filled, the operator then folds the box flaps and introduces the box to the LDX-RTB for top sealing.

The LDX-RTB automatically adjusts to the width and height of the box without crushing it. This is accomplished by a unique counter balance design, which stops the downward travel of the upper head and locks it into place. At the same time it protects against flap opening. The Little David LDX-RTB was designed to keep the integrity of light weight, void filled, tall and unstable boxes processed in random order.

Results: An equipment review was performed by both the operations and the maintenance staff. The operations staff liked the fact that Little David equipment was made by a machine manufacturer with no ties to tape. It seems that from previous experience the dual focus of the other case sealer manufacturer had complicated things. Both operations and maintenance staff were impressed by the heavy duty design of Little David equipment. The maintenance staff was equally impressed by the overall simplicity of the machine. The decision was made in favor of Little David.

Market Opportunities: Opportunities exist with companies that process tall, unstable, lightweight and void-filled boxes. This type of packing is used extensively in the contract packaging industry. Additional opportunities can also be found in electronics, pharmaceuticals, housewares, and e-commerce industries.

Please contact our Special Application Division for more details at 1-800-572-3434.