Advanced ultrasonic welding components of co-pending application Ser. No. 12/925,652 are readily incorporated into new form-fill-seal machines, but owners of existing machines utilizing heat-seal stations were unsuccessful at swapping the sealing packages. Retrofit kits to a replace heat sealing station with an advanced ultrasonic sonotrode and anvil comprise: a housing; a linear rail fixed thereto; first and second bearing carriages being slidable upon the rail; and first and second fluidic muscles. Each of the fluidic muscles is mounted with a first end fixed to a respective housing wall, and a second end fixed to a respective bearing carriage, permitting actuation of each carriage through pressurization and depressurization of the muscles. The advanced anvil and sonotrode may be secured to respective carriages. In-line arrangements of anvil/sonotrode, bearing carriages, the first fluidic muscle, and the second fluidic muscle provides a narrow profile, permitting side-by-side kit installations for retrofits accomplishing duplex sealing on a horizontal machine.

A package is provided, comprising a packaging material having a bulk layer and being formed into a three-dimensional container by folding the packaging material along predefined crease lines thus forming a fracture along the crease lines. At least one of the crease lines forms a hinge mechanism having a single axis of rotation.

A bulk-based packaging material is provided, comprising at least one crease line for facilitating folding of the packaging material to a package. The at least one crease line is formed as an imprint on a primary side of the packaging material, and as an embossment on a secondary side of the packaging material, wherein the imprint is formed as an elongated groove having a triangular profile.

A bulk-based packaging material is provided, comprising at least one crease line for facilitating folding of the packaging material to a package. The at least one crease line is formed as an imprint on a primary side of the packaging material, and as an embossment on a secondary side of the packaging material, wherein the imprint is formed as an elongated groove having a triangular profile.

A feeding unit for feeding sealed packs of pourable food products to a folding unit arranged to form folded packages from said packs, said feeding unit comprising a feeding conveyor having a carrying arrangement movable cyclically along an advancing path to carry said packs towards said folding unit, wherein said feeding unit further comprises a push arrangement arranged to push said packs towards said advancing path.

In an automated machine that forms a vertically positioned and horizontally traversing web of plastic film into bags and fills the bags with material, the apparatus opens the bags by separating the bag upper longitudinal edge portions. First and second opposing slide gates on opposite sides of the bags normal traversing plane are moveable between closed and open positions. Longitudinal channels on each of the slide gates receive and clampingly grip the bag longitudinal edge portions when the gates are moved away from their closed positions. The bag edge portions are thereby gripped and separated from one another when the gates are opened for thereby opening and filling the bags. While opening the gates, additional longitudinal edge portions are pulled into the apparatus and, while closing the gates, the additional edge portions are pulled out therefrom. The longitudinal edge portions freely traverse through the channels when the gates are closed.

A system for packaging a product into separate bags, including a station for providing a partly closed bag and adding a quantity of the product into the partly closed bag, a closing station for closing the partly closed bag with the quantity of the product therein, a separating station for separating the closed bag from the sheet-shaped material, and an analyzing station for analyzing the closed bag, where the analyzing station is positioned between the closing station and the separating station and where the closed bag hangs from another bag when analyzed.

Methods for encasing bodies including smokeless tobacco or a tobacco substitute with a polymeric casing can include coating a compressed body with microfibers, applying tubular casings to compressed bodies, printing netting and webs on compressed bodies, injection molding around compressed bodies, applying a webbing to compressed bodies, placing compressed bodies into a skin forming bath, and including thermoplastic polymers in a compressed body.

Methods for encasing bodies including smokeless tobacco or a tobacco substitute with a polymeric casing can include coating a compressed body with microfibers, applying tubular casings to compressed bodies, printing netting and webs on compressed bodies, injection molding around compressed bodies, applying a webbing to compressed bodies, placing compressed bodies into a skin forming bath, and including thermoplastic polymers in a compressed body.

The present invention relates to an air bag machine. The operational steps of the machine mainly includes: first, placing bag film on a main body, and extending one end of the bag film to pass through a sealing device and material pulling module in sequence. Subsequently, the bag film is pulled to the rear end by the material pulling module when air filling is carried out to the bag film, and at the same time, the bag film is cut to form a hole entrance by a cutting element so as to facilitate filling air into the bag film Thereafter, the sealing device is used to seal the hole entrance to complete the sealing of the finished bag film.