A method and apparatus for manufacturing a tampon packaging where the packaging is manufactured separately from the tampon. A first transversal end is overlapped with a second transversal end of a strip of heat-sealable film. The first transversal end is heat sealed to the second transversal end of the heat-sealable film, thereby forming a tube of film.

A machine for winding sutures into a suture tray package comprises a base platform, a plurality of package nests, a first workstation for placing an empty tray onto one of the package nests, a further workstation for feeding a needle with an attached suture in the tray and parking said needle in the tray, a winding station for winding the suture into a winding channel of the tray, a lid placement station for placing a lid onto one of the package nests, a lid attachment station for attaching the lid to the tray, and an offloading station for removing said trays from the package nests. The further workstation comprises two tweezer grippers, at least one of said tweezer grippers having a V- or U-shaped notch, said V- or U-shaped notch being located at the inside of the notched tweezer gripper facing the second tweezer gripper.

A machine for winding sutures into a suture tray package comprises a base platform, a plurality of package nests, a first workstation for placing an empty tray onto one of the package nests, a further workstation for feeding a needle with an attached suture in the tray and parking said needle in the tray, a winding station for winding the suture into a winding channel of the tray, a lid placement station for placing a lid onto one of the package nests, a lid attachment station for attaching the lid to the tray, and an offloading station for removing said trays from the package nests. The further workstation comprises two tweezer grippers, at least one of said tweezer grippers having a V- or U-shaped notch, said V- or U-shaped notch being located at the inside of the notched tweezer gripper facing the second tweezer gripper.

A suture attaching station attaches a needle and a suture to form a single combination. The setup of the crimping unit is facilitated by using an offline measuring fixture. The offline measuring fixture is calibrated by placing a precision gage block into the measuring fixture and then zeroing a digital measuring unit. The gage block is then replaced by the desired crimping die and the reading is noted as an offset for the servo drive of the suture attaching station. This offset is used to set the zero point of the crimping die centre.

A gripper installation for simultaneously gripping a plurality of elongate flexible items, in particular sausages, having a plurality of gripper portions that are disposed so as to be mutually parallel, wherein each gripper portion has two mutually spaced-apart finger pairs, wherein the fingers of each finger pair grip the item at opposite sides and for gripping an item are capable of being simultaneously converged, wherein the gripper portions are capable of being simultaneously activated.

A sausage processing apparatus, including a circulating compartmented belt, a downstream compartmented roller, wherein a sausage is transferred from a compartment of the belt into a compartment of the roller, and a second circulating transport device, onto which the sausages are transferred from the compartments of the roller. A control device controls the conveying operation of the second transport device and of the roller. A sensor device detects the occupancy of the compartments of the belt. The control device controls the conveying operation of the roller and the second transport device dependent on the detection result of the sensor device such that, upon detection of one or more successive unoccupied compartments of the belt, the conveying operation of the roller and of the second transport device is stopped or slowed when the unoccupied compartment is in or is entering a transfer position and, upon detection of an occupied compartment, the conveying operation is resumed when the occupied compartment is in or is entering the transfer position.

A method for handling and drying cardboard tubes is provided. The method involves using the skids for supporting cardboard tubes during the drying, wrapping and transport of the cardboard tubes, in order to reduce handling of the tubes while maintaining a low moisture level in the tubes.

A method for handling and drying cardboard tubes is provided. The method involves using the skids for supporting cardboard tubes during the drying, wrapping and transport of the cardboard tubes, in order to reduce handling of the tubes while maintaining a low moisture level in the tubes.

A system and method of transporting and loading coextruded meat products in a packaging machine are disclosed. A single line of the coextruded meat products are conveyed using a linear transfer conveyor to an orienting conveyor onto which they are transferred. The orienting conveyor establishes a group of coextruded meat products which is subsequently transported from the orienting conveyor into a cavity of the packaging machine using a pushing device. It is contemplated one or more of these processing lines may run in parallel and that various steps could involve batch operations, such as, for example, multiple groups being pushed into multiple cavities simultaneously.

A system and method of transporting and loading coextruded meat products in a packaging machine are disclosed. A single line of the coextruded meat products are conveyed using a linear transfer conveyor to an orienting conveyor onto which they are transferred. The orienting conveyor establishes a group of coextruded meat products which is subsequently transported from the orienting conveyor into a cavity of the packaging machine using a pushing device. It is contemplated one or more of these processing lines may run in parallel and that various steps could involve batch operations, such as, for example, multiple groups being pushed into multiple cavities simultaneously.