LOGO LASERING ON CIGARS
Challenge
Scandinavian Tobacco Group is an international manufacturer of cigars and tobacco products. Their site in Lummen produces cigars and cigarillos for various brands such as Mercator and La Paz.
STG was looking for a solution to apply a custom logo to certain ranges of cigars. The machine had to be mobile and easy to integrate on their existing production lines.
In addition, they wanted a solution to have all cigars roll off the belt in the same orientation. Now, 50% of the products always pointed in a different direction. In their set-up the cigars are cut: the product is manufactured in one length and then a cutting machine divides the long cigar in two. This causes the cigars to roll in the opposite direction to the belt. As a result, the operator had to pick up half of the cigars and turn them over.
In summary: engineer and build a mobile machine that can laser and rotate 1,200 cigars in one minute.
Solution
To apply the logo on the cigars we’ve chosen laser technology. Lasers are fast, precise, easy to maintain and can apply all sorts of shapes. Six laser heads – three mounted above and three below – guarantee that any logo can be applied at 180° around the cigar.
The mobile installation is easy to move and easy to connect at the back of each line. The drive is done by connecting the unit to the motor of the mother line.
To rotate the cigars, there were several ways. We opted for a chute – a kind of slide. Such a system ensures that the cigars fall in a controlled way, with enough support, but without too much friction. This way we guarantee that the products always have the right orientation.
Results
A machine that accurately applies the logo on cigars at high speed and usable on any line.
Efficiency and ergonomics have increased by saving the operator a tiring and repeating operation.
