Feeding and Folding
Folding papers is a slow and tedious task with varying quality depending on the person folding the papers. It is easy to automate folding tasks with consistent and high-quality results. Folding assemblies are compact and simple in design, lending them to integrate into systems and existing production lines easily. There are two types of automated folding techniques, each with its own folding assembly equipment and setup.
Plow Folding
Plow Folding is used when folding from the side, or book-style folds. It uses a sturdy, curved metal plate and a roller to fold and crease the product. In a matter of seconds, a product moves down a conveyor and the curved metal plate guides it to a folded position for the roller to crease. The small size of the metal plate allows for easy integration into systems and existing production lines. Plow folding is the most efficient high speed folding technique that maintains accuracy while folding. Plow folding is recommended for applications such as applying wafer seals to booklets/magazines, tamper evident seals to electronics packaging, carton or box folding, creating pamphlets, and any other application where folding along the side edge of a product is required.
Buckle Folding
The buckle folding method folds from front to back. It uses high speed and force to fold products. The product moves rapidly down a conveyor and then the lead edge is driven into a buckle plate, which is a rigid sleeve that is close to the product thickness.
The buckle plate has a backstop, and when the lead edge of the product hits the backstop the product is forced to “buckle” near the entrance of the buckle plate. Just downstream of the buckle plate opening is a folding roller (or rollers) that grabs the product where the buckle fold begins to form. The folding roller forces the lead portion of the product that was captured by the buckle plate to fold over backwards as the product is driven through the roller, creasing the fold in the process. This process is slower than plow folding but is required to create a front-to-back fold. Buckle folding is recommend ed for applications such as creating booklets, folded inserts, magazines, carton folding, and any other application where front-to-back folding is required.
MFT Friction Feeders
Friction feeders are efficient automation equipment that separates and dispenses flat products from a vertical stack, one product at a time. Paper or cardstock is a standard product fed through friction feeders. With a diverse selection of friction feeders ranging in sizes, maximum speeds, sanitary requirements, and more, MFT Automation has a high-performance friction feeder that will fit your application. MFT Automation offers four friction feeder families: Signature Series (v3), Industrial Performance Series (ip3), High Continuous Performance (HCP) Series, Hygienic and Washdown series. Our v3 series is our economical and cost-efficient feeding solution, engineered for lower throughput and low-speed applications. Our Ip3 Series is our classic premium friction feeding solution, designed for industrial environments. The HCP Series features hard carcass belts that can withstand high-speed applications. Our Hygienic and Washdown series is specifically designed for end customers in the food, medical, and pharmaceutical industries that need to repetitively and aggressively clean their production floor equipment. All MFT friction feeders have a compact design making them easy to integrate into existing production lines. With powerful software and robust parts, MFT friction feeders are built for long runs and years of quality service.
MFT Automation has been helping customers design, build, and integrate high-performance automation solutions for over 25 years. MFT Automation’s equipment, systems, and services are known for their flexibility, accuracy, and performance. Made possible by our engineering-oriented and customer-driven approach to finding the best possible automation solution for customers’ applications. With an abundance of in-house resources including Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, and a machine shop with modern CNC and lathe machine tools, we work with customers from the first solution draft to installation and integration. Contact us with your latest automation challenge, online or call us at 1-651-427-1255.
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