PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2021

CAPS & CLOSURES 25 PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 01+02/21 www.petpla.net Customised technology, flexibility and high-quality solutions Complex closures Increasingly complex closures, attention to the environment, ergonomics: caps manufacturers are continuously raising the bar in their new developments. The Italian company Maca Engineering manufactures and supplies a complete range of automatic machines and lines for the production and assembly of aluminium and plastic caps and closures, meeting new challenges in cap design and production. The manufacture of complex closures through fast, reliable and fully automated machines has been the hallmark of Maca Engineering’s experience for over 30 years. It is an ability recognised by the market to the point that often in the initial research or prototype stage of a new product, companies are consulting Maca on the feasibility of the pro- posed designs as well as requesting Maca to come up with the solution that offers the best performance. One of Maca’s main production areas is the assembling lines and slitting/folding machines for plastic caps and closures. This includes pre- threaded flat plastic caps and pre- threaded sport plastic caps, complex closures for alcoholic drinks or pre- threaded agrochemical caps. To take one example, Maca points to a line for cutting the tamper evident ring, folding the inner flap of plastic caps and inserting pre-cut liners. The ITVE-MRR machine con- sists of two flywheels; the first cuts the tamper evident ring, the second (optional) folds the inner flap. The machine is fitted with loading and discharging stars synchronised with the main flywheel and photocells and an external slitting blade which can be easily replaced. Caps of different diameters can be processed without changing the gears. The second Bite-Mark IRV-type machine type IRV inserts pre-cut liners inside the cap. The machine can process either loose liners or it can be customised to work with liners pre-stacked in a tube for spe- cific products (such as agrochemical caps). It is equipped with an exit con- veyor belt with the option of installing a vacuum system to allow a vision system to be integrated. Finally, the machine offers a box diverter for loading 2 boxes. Sports caps The Maca product range also offers a continuous motion rotary assembling machine with 3 flywheels with 24 punches each for sport caps for assembling up to a maximum of 3 components with an output up to 36,000 pcs/hr. More than 80% of key components and structural assemblies (including machine units, dies, etc.) are pro- duced in-house and countermarked with an identification number to sim- plify re-ordering. All Maca Engineering machines are tested in the presence of the customer so that smooth and correct operation can be verified at first hand. Reliability of the after-sales service is assured since the technicians who assemble the machine are the same technicians who will oversee commis- sioning on site. Recently Maca Engineering joined Arol Group, which includes Arol Clo- sure Systems, the global reference point in the design, manufacture and distribution of capping machines & capping turrets, as well as cap feed- ing, orienting and sorting systems. The two companies are joined by Unimac-Gherri, a specialist in filling and capping of glass, metal and plas- tic containers with twist-off and pre- threaded caps for dense, semidense and pasty products; and Tirelli, which develops and produces filling, capping and labelling systems mainly for the cosmetics industry. www.macaengineering.com CAPS & CLOSURES Processing of plastic closures Maca Engineering’s facility in San Quirino, Italy