Automatic and flexible: COSSMA

Every season customers ask for new colours and product sizes in make-up, creating a processing dilemma for Laverana. Daniel Traub explains how a fully automatic packaging process and TLM-line solved the challenge.

Any company within the beauty sector manufacturing cosmetic products on a somewhat larger scale needs its packaging process to be at least semi-automated. To be more efficient, many companies even prefer fully automatic production.

Thomas Haase is founder and managing director of Laverana, a medium sized company from Germany that focuses on natural cosmetics. Haase explains: “The beauty industry is fast-moving and seasonally inspired.” Laverana was looking for a flexible machine, which the company could use to implement different diameter colours and shapes. With Schuberts-Cosmetics they found a partner that offered a TLM (Toploading Packaging machine) solution for their lavera brand of powder, rouge and eyeshadow.

Efficient assembly and packaging process

Schuberts-Cosmetic TLM currently offers 13 formats. Several F4 robots, equipped with special opening, filling and closing tools, as well as high-performance image processing system, are used to place one to four cosmetics palettes into boxes in various format-dependant patterns. The throughput of the TLM line depends on the number of colour palettes per box. For boxes with one palette, known as “monos”, the machine processes around 100 products per minute. For boxes with four palettes, “quattros”, it has an output of approximately 60 products per minute.

Robots working

The boxes are fed through the first sub-machine via an infeed belt on the TLM line, where they are picked up by F4 robots and placed in the “box opener”. The opener handles various boxes with different opening mechanisms. “Because there are different closure types, developing the opening mechanism for the various box types was one of the challenges for our engineers,” says Werner Schaf-auer, the responsible sales account manager at Schubert. F4 robots pick the boxes up again after opening and set them on the conveyor belt.

The infeed belt in the second sub-machine delivers additional boxes or colour palettes, determined by the works order. The third sub-machine is reserved for the infeed process of the colour palettes, which are picked up by F4 robots. Colour palettes are made from pressed and baked powder and are very sensitive. In order to protect them from damage or even crushing, a special tool had to be developed.

Facts and figures about this TLM
Filling mono, duo and quattro boxes on one machine Currently 13 formats, additional formats can be retrofitted at any time Format changeover in under ten minutes Compact design High line efficiency Integrated quality control The TLM line’s output depends on the number of colour palettes per box: Mono (1 colour palette per box): 100 products per minute Duo (2 colour palettes per box): 80 products per minute Quattro (4 colour palettes per box): 60 products per minute

Integrated quality control

A reflected light scanner checks whether the box has been opened before the colour palettes are placed inside. The line takes into account the tolerance values of the packaging. The F4 robot passes the product over a glue station. A sensor determines whether the glue spot for fastening the palettes into the box has been placed correctly and, if so, the colour palettes are positioned in the notched locations provided in the boxes. Before being closed, the filled palettes go through a further quality control process; a 3D scanner, specially developed for the purpose, checks whether all the palettes are seated correctly in the notches and are not protruding. With the 3D scanner, Schubert is the first manufacturer to offer its customers the ability to produce a 3D image of their products. This means it is now possible to identify the heights of products.

For special formats with smaller quantities, the machine also has an integrated manual packing station. In this way, the new packaging line allows Laverana to respond quickly to consumer requests, while fulfilling its own aspirations for innovation.