A method for controlling a packaging machine for producing wrappers, in particular for producing wrappers for smokable products of the tobacco industry, with several drives capable of being activated independently of one another which move machine elements of the packaging machine on trajectories on which the machine elements might collide with one another or with another component of the packaging machine or with products being handled in the packaging machine, by creating a digital simulation model of the packaging machine is created, simulating differing relative positions of the drives and the states of the packaging machine, ascertaining collision-free traversing paths for the machine elements, and moving the machine elements of the packaging machine respectively along the ascertained collision-free traversing paths.

A method for controlling a packaging machine for producing wrappers, in particular for producing wrappers for smokable products of the tobacco industry, with several drives capable of being activated independently of one another which move machine elements of the packaging machine on trajectories on which the machine elements might collide with one another or with another component of the packaging machine or with products being handled in the packaging machine, by creating a digital simulation model of the packaging machine is created, simulating differing relative positions of the drives and the states of the packaging machine, ascertaining collision-free traversing paths for the machine elements, and moving the machine elements of the packaging machine respectively along the ascertained collision-free traversing paths.

An apparatus for forming a collation of rod-shaped aerosol-generating articles is provided, including: multiple movable pockets, each pocket to house a collation having a number of layers of the articles; a number of hoppers forming a reservoir of the articles, each hopper to provide a respective transfer set of the articles to the collation; and a control system to control relative movement of the respective pocket with respect to the hoppers, the respective pocket to be arranged next to each hopper enabling transfer of the respective transfer set of the articles from the respective hopper to the respective pocket, a cumulative number of the articles in all transfer sets is greater than a number of the articles in the respective collation, and the control system is further to vertically move the pockets independently of each other relative to the hoppers and/or to move the hoppers independently of each other.

An apparatus for forming a collation of rod-shaped aerosol-generating articles is provided, including: multiple movable pockets, each pocket to house a collation having a number of layers of the articles; a number of hoppers forming a reservoir of the articles, each hopper to provide a respective transfer set of the articles to the collation; and a control system to control relative movement of the respective pocket with respect to the hoppers, the respective pocket to be arranged next to each hopper enabling transfer of the respective transfer set of the articles from the respective hopper to the respective pocket, a cumulative number of the articles in all transfer sets is greater than a number of the articles in the respective collation, and the control system is further to vertically move the pockets independently of each other relative to the hoppers and/or to move the hoppers independently of each other.

There are described a method and machine for manufacturing truncated-cone shaped tubular elements. The machine comprises: a conveyor provided with a number of first seats, each for a tubular element, divided into sets with a predetermined number of first seats; a first insertion station in which the tubular elements housed inside the first seats of a set are transferred simultaneously inside the respective second seats of a loader; a packing conveyor which moves tubular packs along a packing path; and a second insertion station of the tubular elements which are transferred from the loader to the tubular pack, wherein the loader is movable from the first insertion station to the second insertion station arranged along the packing path.

There are described a method and machine for manufacturing truncated-cone shaped tubular elements. The machine comprises: a conveyor provided with a number of first seats, each for a tubular element, divided into sets with a predetermined number of first seats; a first insertion station in which the tubular elements housed inside the first seats of a set are transferred simultaneously inside the respective second seats of a loader; a packing conveyor which moves tubular packs along a packing path; and a second insertion station of the tubular elements which are transferred from the loader to the tubular pack, wherein the loader is movable from the first insertion station to the second insertion station arranged along the packing path.