As the popularity of single-serve coffee machines increased over the last several years, so has the need to produce the coffee cups more efficiently. The Garvey Line Analysis proved that an 18% to 24% increase in productivity could be gained by placing an accumulator between the filler and the cartoner. The increase in throughput is achieved by keeping the production line’s bottleneck, the filler, running during the short stoppages that frequently occur in the cartoner. Few manufacturers were able to take advantage of these line buffers because the tapered cups are too unstable to accumulate. Garvey was able to meet the challenge by literally flipping the cups upside-down. The inverted cups are much more stable and can be conveyed without polycarbonate covers that limit access to the product. Standard methods of handling the inverted coffee pods would tend to scratch the delicate labels. The Garvey Infinity™ TM provides a pressure-less system that does not damage the colorful label and also meets the speed requirements of today’s fastest fillers. If the customer prefers to have the cups handled right side up, this can be done as well.
Specially designed “C” Chutes are utilized to invert the cups as well as place them on the inner tracks of the accumulation table, which provides the desired FIFO (First-In, First-Out) system. The Infinity™’s versatile out-feed can count products for bulk packaging, or send them out in two lanes to a cartoner. An additional “C” chute is used to invert one of the lanes for more efficient stacking in the carton.
The Infinity™ for the coffee industry is one of the latest examples of an innovative Garvey solution to help maximize productivity.