Urania

All Urania heat sealer models can be equipped with a mechanical pouch-trimming device. The pouch trimmer is used to remove excess and unwanted pouch material above the pouch seal. The pouch trimmer can be located in one of two positions on the sealer - at the sealer entrance or at the exit of the sealer. Each location has advantages.

Trimmer located at the entrance to the heat sealer:

• No restrictions on amount of material trimmed above seal area.

Trimmer located at the exit of the sealer:

• Rejected pouches are not trimmed.

Both locations utilize a pouch trimmer of a basic design, with custom mounts that attach it to the heat sealer. The standard sealer head must be modified to accept the trimmer mounts. Because of differences in design, a trimmer must be used in the position (front or rear) for which it is designed.

The trimmer unit utilizes a separate drive motor to carry the pouch through the trim mechanism. This allows the operator to adjust the belt speed of the trimmer in relation to the main sealer speed. A slight difference in speed between the sealer and trimmer drive belts keeps the pouch material taut as the pouch transfers between sealer and trimmer. Taut pouch materials better trimmed edges.

Both trimmer designs incorporate a quick disconnect electrical connector for the motor drive and control logic signals required for operation. Both units may also be fitted with an air-powered scrap removal device to blow trim material away from the trimmer and into a collection bin. Any air supply tubing for scrap removal will also incorporate a quick disconnect.

When the trimmer is mounted to the entrance to the sealer, the trimming is performed before the pouch enters the sealer. There are no restrictions to the amount of trimmed material with a front mounted trimmer.

A rear-mounted trimmer trims the pouch as the final operation to the sealed pouch. If an error occurs in the heat sealer, the rejected pouches will not be trimmed. This is a clear indicator to an operator of ‘good' and ‘bad' pouches. There are limits to the amount of material that can be trimmed from a pouch using a rear-mounted trimmer. If the sealer is equipped with standard height sealing and cooling bars, the maximum trim is one and a quarter inches (1.250") above the seal. With the optional increased throat heating and cooling bars, the trim amount increases to three inches (3.000"). Custom seal and trim depths are also available on special order.

Since not every pouch run on a sealer will require trimming, the operation of the trimming mechanism can be switched ‘ON' or ‘OFF' as needed. This control is in the menu system for the sealer control panel. In addition, the trimmer can be equipped with a sensor in the trimmer mount to automatically enable or disable the drive motor during operation. Along with the sensor, the trimmer mount will also incorporate a hinge mechanism so that the trimmer mechanism can pivot out of the way of the sealer. When the trimmer is clear of the sealer, the sealer Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) will automatically deactivate the trimmer drive motor. This provides near continuous operation for trimmed and non-trimmed pouches.