Packaging Resource Center: The Latest in Blister Machinery

A company designs and integrates blister and pouch transfer equipment. Blister vacuum transfer systems feature magazine outfeeds to cartoners. The company also offers blister pick-and-place systems, and blister and pouch sleeving and accumulation systems. The company’s blister magazines feature positive transfer, adjustable blister count into cartoner buckets, and easy changeover between blister card sizes. The pick-and-place blister transfer system features universal tooling, programmable selection of blisters, and reject verification. Micron Pharmaworks Inc., Odessa, FL; 727/232-8200; www.pharmaworks.com.

Blister Pack Inspector

A blister pack inspection system is designed to perform a complete verification of blister-packaged products. The system has a lighting feature embedded with a high-resolution 3-CCD RGB color camera to completely inspect tablets, capsules, and coated pills. The unit rejects all deformed products and blisters. Optional upgrade features include bar code verification and protruding pill detection. The systems includes a 15-in. touch screen and multilingual operator interface. Optel Vision, Quebec, QC, Canada; 418/688-0334; www.optelvision.com.

Blister Card System

An automatic blister feeding, collating, and folding machine is designed to handle heat-sealed cards or hot-melt adhesive-style blister card wallets. Production capabilities are increased by the multiple blister-feed choices: bulk, magazine-fed, and on-line transfer from a thermoformer. A touch screen is incorporated to ease operator training and provide preventive maintenance in the form of on-line manuals and self-diagnostics. The system is servo drive and can be continuously run at high speeds. Card magaz- ines can be up to 48 in. long. Optional coding and vision systems can be integrated. MGS Machine Corp., Maple Grove, MN; 763/425-8808; www.mgsmachine.com.

Continuous-Motion Line

A manufacturer offers continuous-motion and plane-sealing blister thermoformer construction equipment. The machines can be separated to flexibly accommodate the space in the production environment. The company’s medium-speed blister line can output up to 200 blisters per minute. The company offers a blister line composed of an automatic blister thermoformer, a roboticized connection group, and an automatic continuous-motion cartoner. Marchesini Group S.p.A., Bologna, Italy; +39 051 6518711; www.marchesini.com.

Blister Machine

A company offers a blister machine designed to output up to 500 packages per minute. The Blister Express Center 500 combines the company’s B 1550 blister machine with its C 2504 cartoner to offer improved flexibility and high-speed performance. The single-lane unit is designed for continuous running. It is also designed to provide full compensation for shrinkage and to only allow good-quality blisters and correctly filled cartons to be processed. Uhlmann Packaging Systems Inc., Towaco, NJ; 973/402-8855; www.uhlmann-usa.com.