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PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

Star product
Optimus Prime

‘Transforming’ the world of slip case and bottle box production, says Simon Eccles

How does it work?
Optimus Prime can work with die-cut or
grooved blanks and can start with flat
boards or pre-formed and taped carcasses.
It offers two different functions, with five
different sheet designs depending on the
sequence you choose to wrap the box in.
The first option is to pre-form a box carcass
using corner tape. The operator would then
glue the cover material and place the box
into position on the glued sheet. The opera-
tor then places the box and glued sheet onto
the mould/tool for the machine to wrap the
cover material around the box. The second
option is for Optimus Prime to form the
box, when pre-grooved or die-cut boards
are placed flat onto the glued sheet and the
vacuum will hold it on the mould/tool. As
it’s wrapped the cover sheet acts instead of
glue/tape to keep the box formed. There’s
Falling somewhere between slow man- Specifications case and bottle box production by automat- no restriction on board type or thickness.
ual boxmaking options and pricey auto- ing the wrapping of cover materials around Cover materials can be printed, laminated,
mated systems, this machine may have a Speed: the box carcass, and/or by forming the box standard coated or uncoated stocks. Hot
familiar face but it is one of a kind – and Depends on style of and wrapping it in one process. The vac- animal glue is recommended, although
could have a ‘transformative’ impact. product, typically uum feature means there’s no need to cor- vegan glue works – its slightly longer open
250-500 items per
What does it do? hour ner tape. It’s perfect for on demand and time can slow down production. Setup is
short run production of bottle boxes, slip manual, with the operator turning handles
It’s a hand-fed machine that wraps and Box/slip case cases and drawer boxes.” to set the pressing rollers against a test car-
forms rigid boxes and slip cases in one oper- dimensions: cass on the mould/tool. There are touch-
ation. Typically these are paper wraps for Max: When was it launched and what
luxury packaging, where the alternative is 350x350x120mm types of work is it intended for? screen settings for positioning the roller
slow hand wrapping, or expensive fully (LxWxH); Min: It was launched in 2021 and the first heights, etc. Dwell time, speed and other
automated lines. It is made in China but 40x30x10mm machine was sold to a large packaging com- settings are all managed on the touchscreen
imported into the UK by Perfect Box pany that produces whisky bottle boxes for controls. The sheet design is chosen, which
Solutions (the packaging wing of Perfect Machine dimen- many UK distilleries. “Book manufacturers then determines the wrapping sequence
sions:
Solutions Group, which also includes Depends on guard- and operation.
Perfect Bindery Solutions), which then ing options could also benefit from this machine to add Moulds/tools are produced from nylon or
modifies it with new software, PLC (pro- value to their books by supplying them are 3D printed. Those for vacuum require
grammable logic controller), plus taking it Power: inside a slip case,” says Giddins. “Other cus- some machining and steel bars to be
up to safety and guarding standards, includ- Single phase, 16A, tomers have produced drawer box type installed on the mould/tool. If two
ing larger light barriers, two-button starts 220v, 800w products to hold coins from the Royal Mint. machines are installed, they can handle, for
and safety resets. Commando socket “Customers can choose to have one or
required two machines: the first to form/wrap the instance, slip cases and trays separately side
Why the name? box, the second to complete the tuck-in – by side, boosting efficiency. Otherwise, a
Price: £36,427 single machine has to be reset between
“Optimus Prime was named after the the flaps inside the box. We have advised
Transformer character due to the face on customers that the inside tuck-in can be cases and trays.
the front of the machine,” says Hannah completed by hand to save them purchas- Does it replace an earlier product?
Giddins, box production machinery spe- ing the second machine, although for
cialist and sales director for PBS. longer runs they may not wish to do this No, it is a new addition to the PBS range,
She says: “It ‘transforms’ the world of slip manually!” for completely different products.
Optimus Prime was named after the Transformer character due to the face on the front of the machine.

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