PDC International Corp., a global manufacturer of precision shrink sleeve labeling and shrink banding machinery, has introduced a system for the precise application of tamper evident shrink bands to tapered and straight-wall canisters, including the oval “sqround” tubs used for deli and dairy products.

The FC-200 sanitary design shrink bander is a robust, flexible system engineered specifically for containers used for ice cream, spreads, oatmeal, yogurt and dried fruit. Fully mechanical, these systems perform without vacuum or pneumatic devices, or spinning knives – the three major causes of difficulty and downtime.

Equally important, they meet all sanitary environment criteria, including requirements related to construction, access, ease of cleaning and hygiene. Sanitary construction features include zero penetration of hollow frame members, motorized washdown modes for cleaning, and stainless mesh guarding rather than typical polycarbonate panels.

PDC F Series sanitary systems are all stainless steel and use exclusive PDC blade technology, which delivers months of clean, perfect cuts.  They are technologically superior to the fragile “spinning knife” devices of competitors’ machinery, whose average service life is measured in just days.  PDC blades not only have an average service life of months or longer, but blades can be both reversed and repeatedly re-sharpened, for a service life that is unsurpassed in this type of machinery.

PDC blades last months, not days.  

FC-200 Series Shrink Banders operate at 30 to 300 cpm and use dual servos for greatest reliability in product handling and sleeve feeding. They are ideally suited for the application of tamper evident shrink bands to tapered and straight-walled tubs, including both traditional round containers and the “sqround” containers (oval “square rounds”) now popular in the ice cream industry.

F Series shrink banders apply tamper evident bands 1 to 2.3 inches (25 to 60 mm) high and 2.5 to 6.75 inches (63 to 172 mm) in diameter. They are compatible with major commercial shrink sleeve films, (including freezer grade films) including PVC, PET, PETG, OPS and PLA films in gauges as thin as 30 microns, (1.25 mil) depending on throughput and cap configuration.

FC-200 Shrink Banders can be upgraded with additional sensors, various PLCs and touchscreens, power transformers, and motorized height adjustment with pre-set positions for quick changeovers. Zero-downtime Splice-on-the-Fly Material Accumulators are also available. PDC’s proprietary splicing table facilitates fast, accurate material roll splices.

Like all PDC packaging systems, the FC-200 is made in the USA using high-quality, off-the-shelf components, assuring that the cost of ownership remains low throughout the system’s long life.  Systems incorporate field-proven controls technology, and electrical panels can be UL certified.  

SOURCE: PDC International Corp.