An example printing apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure may comprise a platen (10) on which print media may advance and which may comprise a hole (20) that is open towards a print media advance surface and in fluid communication with a vacuum source (40) and with a pressure sensor (50). In implementations of the apparatus a control unit (60) may detect the presence of print media at the hole (20) if the pressure sensor (50) measures an air pressure below a predetermined threshold.

Aspects of automated fabric picking are described. In one embodiment, a system includes a textile cutter including a tabletop upon which textile panels can be cut out from a textile sheet, a textile panel picker, and a computing device. The textile panel picker includes a flexible transport tube, a transport tube transfer arm to position the flexible transport tube over the tabletop and the textile panels, a textile hopper to collect the textile panels, and a pneumatic pump assembly to evacuate air from the textile hopper and through the flexible transport tube. The computing device identifies and tracks the textile panels on the tabletop, directs the transport tube transfer arm to position the flexible transport tube over the textile panels, and directs the pneumatic pump assembly to generate suction to pull the textile panels through the flexible transport tube and into the textile hopper.

Methods and apparatuses for moving and/or transferring discrete articles are described. In particular, the methods and apparatuses relate to flexible arrangements to move and/or transfer discrete articles that vary in size and/or shape with minimal to no change in equipment.

A method and apparatus for depositing discrete elements on a support element. The discrete elements may be separated from each other or joined to form a continuous web. The discrete elements are fed into a pick-up station defined at a rotor which includes circumferentially adjacent pick-up members. Each discrete element is associated with a respective pick-up member having a first orientation with respect to a respective second axis of rotation. Each pick-up member is moved along the rotation direction towards a release position downstream with an at least partially accelerated or decelerated motion. Each pick-up member is rotated about the respective second axis of rotation until it takes, at the release position, a second orientation. Each discrete element is released on a support element at the release position. Each pick-up member is subsequently moved towards the pick-up station with an at least partially decelerated or accelerated motion.

A medium processing apparatus includes a processing unit that performs processing on a sheet-like medium; an outer wall on which a discharge port, from which the medium processed by the processing unit is discharged, is open; a stacking portion that has a stacking surface on which the medium discharged from the discharge port is stacked; a suction unit that sucks air on the stacking surface via a suction port provided below the discharge port; and a control unit that controls a workload of the suction unit. The control unit reduces the workload of the suction unit according to an open area of the suction port which is occluded by the medium stacked on the stacking portion and is decreased.

The present disclosure is directed, in part, to methods of transferring discrete articles. A method comprises providing a transfer device having a frame defining a rotation axis, and circumnavigating a plurality of transfer heads of the transfer device about the rotation axis in an orbit, with the orbit passing through a pick-up location and a drop-off location. The method comprises providing a web accumulation device proximate to the drop-off location, moving the web through the web accumulation device at a variable speed, picking up a discrete article at the pick-up location, carrying the discrete article on the one of the plurality of transfer heads between the pick-up location and the drop-off location, and placing the discrete article onto a portion of the web in the drop-off location at a first discrete article pitch and when the portion of the web is moving at a first speed.

Maker machine to manufacture hygiene absorbent articles and having: a feeding line which feeds a continuous strip of impermeable material, which is intended to define a succession of sheets of impermeable material; and at least one operating unit which feeds a corresponding component of the hygiene absorbent articles to the sheets of impermeable material carried by the feeding line by way of an application device; the application device has at least one sucking pick-up head and a conveyor provided with an annular guide which is arranged in fixed position along an application path, a slide which supports the sucking pick-up head and is coupled to the guide so as to freely slide along the guide, and a linear electric motor, which has a stator that is arranged in a fixed position along the guide and a mobile slider which is electro-magnetically coupled to the stator so as to receive, from the stator a driving force and is rigidly connected to the slide.

The present invention proposes a device (1) that saves time and costs and is reliable and gentle on material for cutting off and providing a film part unit (20) from a food-packaging film strip (7), comprising a cutting station (2) which is adapted to intermittently cut off film part units (20) from a food-packaging film strip (7) which intermittently passes through the cutting station (2) in a conveying direction (5), characterized in that the cutting station (2) is adapted to pre-cut a film part unit (20) in one working step, where the film part unit (20) remains connected to the film strip (7), and to cut off from the film strip (7) a film part unit (20) that adjoins in the conveying direction (5) and has already been pre-cut in a preceding working step. The invention also relates to a corresponding method.

A unit for applying first and second tabs, obtained from first and second webs, to a chassis web includes an applicator drum rotatable about an axis and including a main body. A plurality of carriers is movable between a lowered position close to the axis and a raised position away from the axis, each including a suction portion. A first carrier first suction and non-suction portions aligned along the axis. A second carrier includes second suction and non-suction portions aligned along the axis. The first suction portions alternate with the second non-suction portions and the first non-suction portions alternate with the second suction portions. A first system holds the first web on the applicator drum upstream of a cutting device. A second system holds the second web on the drum upstream of the cutting device.

A holding device (1) for a succession of sheet-shaped elements circulating in a processing machine (100) along conveying path T. The holding device (1) has two series (10, 20) of a plurality of suction members (11, 21). At least one series of suction members 20 extends along and is movably mounted parallel to the transport path T of the sheets, between a retracted position and a deployed position. Each series is in an array, parallel to the transport path and the suction members are arranged spaced apart alongside one another, so that the array of members extend perpendicular to the conveying path T of the sheets and the suction members (11, 21) of each series (10, 20) are transversely offset relative to the suction members (11, 21) of the other series (10, 20).