Atlas Vac Machine’s ISO 13849 compliant tray sealers feature an ISO 13849/Category 3 Light Curtain system that allows total automatic shuttle movement with the push of a button. This unique safety option provides horizontal or vertical light curtain across the protected tool loading area to meet safety standards with a zero-access requirement. Light curtain system integrated to press air supply valve and electric shuttle motion circuit for operator access safety. Any light curtain violation requires the cycle to re-home and start over. A single green push button initiates the entire cycle automatically. While the sealer completes the entire cycle safely, the operator can prepare the next load internal to current cycle time, allowing significant productivity gains while eliminating repetitive motion fatigue common with other systems.
Additional features include direct force measurement, Atlas Vac is the only tray sealer which directly measures the force exerted by the sealing platen rather than air pressure to the platen. This allows packaging engineers to refine their validation efforts by starting with the lb-F needed to seal a known flange surface area. This patented Direct Force Sensing option is available on all Atlas Vac models.
Automatic Air Pressure regulation available on Atlas vac models allows air pressure settings to be entered directly int the PLC screen as high- and low-pressure limits. This provides a cruise control feature where the PLC electronically maintains the air pressure to this digital setting.
RFID tool ID enables packaging engineers to imprint each tool with a distinct recipe identity which is then matched to the correct PW protected validation recipe. If the operator selects a recipe other than that demanded by the RFID equipped tool the sealer will not cycle.
An auto eject system for gentle automatic lift ejection of sealed trays as the Auto Shuttle System returns the completed packaging and tooling to the home position speeds production and eliminates repetitive motion issues for operators.
Direct printing on lids is accomplished with a Videojet printing system integrated with Atlas vac electric auto shuttle prints data on lidstock as sealed tray exits the press area. Any data from recipe seal stroke readings, audit file data, lot codes, etc., are available for lid printing.
Atlas Vac also announces an Enterprise Integration System (EIS) which provides extensive data from each press sealing cycle to ensure proven quality and quantitative analysis. This simplified interface between complex Enterprise Resource and Planning (ERP) software and Atlas Vac pneumatic or all electric tray sealers was developed over four years, working closely with customers, and listening to their individual needs.
This bi-directional solution allows ERP systems to create a simple crafted file with instructions for Atlas Vac machines. Controlling temperature, pressure and sealing time and other vital information can be customized to each customer’s individual system needs. In return, at a predetermined moment, determined by each client’s needs, an audit trail, sealing data, and alarm logs are transferred back to the network server for analysis.
“This is a deciding moment for our industry,” said Atlas Vac President John Abraham. “Currently medical tray sealers sit outside of the corporate ERP systems, and there is very little data being generated to prove the quality of the Medical Tray sealing event. With stricter FDA requirements being implemented, our EIS ensure that each tray sealing data set is captured and reported back to the network servers for analysis.”
EIS can be included on new Atlas Vac machines and can be placed on many existing Atlas Vac sealers with a retrofit kit.