The company headquarters with its highly engineered production facilities is located in Munich. From there, the products are supplied to more than 80 countries worldwide.

The majority of dental instruments are packaged and labelled on blister machines from various manufacturers. A problem here is the high variety of variants due to customer-specific labels, which make multiple machine conversions necessary every day. However, since the customer-specific batches to be labelled often only have runs of less than 200 pieces, changing over the systems is too time-consuming. Very small batches must be labelled manually.

VDW was therefore looking for ways to separate the packaging and labelling processes. A recommendation led to a discussion with Intrex Deutschland GmbH, where a tailor-made solution concept was jointly implemented over a development period of 12 months:

1. In future, the products will no longer be labelled after blistering, but printed with a data matrix code containing all product and production-related data. The blisters are then stored in so-called tubes/boxes (carton magazines).
2. Intrex Deutschland GmbH implements the newly developed LSC-100 labeller. It can currently process four different blister formats and label them to order. The modular design allows it to be expanded to include additional formats and products.
3. The KUPvision software installed on an IPC controls and monitors all functions of the new labelling system. The software stores information such as user logins, job and format changes etc. in an audit trail. The date, time, user, function data and parameters are saved for each entry. The audit trail and statistical data can be retrieved at any time and stored separately on a data carrier.
4. The operator receives a packing list in paper form for processing a customer order. By scanning the barcode on the order sheet, the product and order-related information from the ERP system of VDW GmbH is read out by the LSC-100 labeller and clearly displayed.
5. The operator retrieves the products to be processed from the warehouse in tubes/storage boxes. DataMatrix codes are attached to the tubes/boxes to display the contents.
6. Then he logs on to the touch screen of the operator panel, presses the button Start new order on the KUPvision interface and scans the barcode on the packing list with the hand scanner.
7. If the order data is correct, the operator is prompted with a message to load a so-called carousel equipped with a total of 10 magazines. The operator places the tubes/boxes in the magazines of this carousel and then the KUPvision software executes a series of inspection operations before starting:
   1. Comparison of the DataMatrix codes on the inserted tubes/boxes with the order data
   2. Summary/overview of the order to be processed
   3. Pre-flight check (checking label data for consistency)
   4. Comparison of all labels - layout data with a label management system
8. The machine starts production of the order.
   
   For stacking, the blisters are lifted from below with a "lift" and mechanically removed by a feed arm of the belt applicator. The feeder is arranged with two arms and each equipped with two pneumatic suction modules. When the first suction module places a product on the conveyor belt, another product is simultaneously removed from the carousel. The arms then change position and repeat the process. Each product is placed on the conveyor belt and moved through cleats attached to the conveyor belt to ensure a stable position during labelling.
9. The DataMatrix code on the blisters is checked to ensure that the correct blisters for the job have been placed on the belt. This data check is carried out with the COGNEX® DataMan type test system.
10. Products found to be GOOD remain on the conveyor belt for further processing, bad products are rejected.
11. Intrex® 200+ labelling system then prints the prefabricated base labels using the thermal transfer printing process (Domino V320i) with order-specific/variable data and

Show more