A quick-change vacuum starwheel assembly including at least one of a quick-change height adjustment assembly or a quick-change vacuum starwheel mounting assembly.

A conveyor system for conveying electrically conductive articles such as aluminum bottles or cans. The conveyor system comprises a plurality of coils below the top surface of an electromagnetic conveyor at a junction between an infeed conveyor and a discharge conveyor. The coils propagate electromagnetic flux waves that induce currents in the electrically conductive articles that force the articles to follow a conveying path from the infeed to the discharge conveyor. Dead spots on the electromagnetic conveyor can be eliminated by adjusting the coil drive waveforms. And a long electromagnetic conveyor driven by a train of narrow pulses is used to singulate electrically conductive articles.

A method of changing article pitch. The method can comprise receiving a series of articles arranged at a first pitch, engaging the articles of the series of articles sequentially with a gripper wheel, moving the articles along a path of travel with the gripper wheel, and moving the articles relative to one another from the first pitch to a second pitch during the moving the articles along the path of travel with the gripper wheel.

Transport unit for transporting circular-cylindrical profiled workpieces, including a loading drum which is rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation on a bearing journal and which is provided on an outer surface with a plurality of loading slides, wherein each loading slide is received on the outer surface so as to be linearly movable along the axis of rotation and has a workholder with a recess profiled in the form of a circular section along the axis of rotation, wherein profile axes of the recesses each intersect a circumference arranged coaxially to the axis of rotation and wherein it is provided that the workholder is received on the loading slide so as to be linearly movable along a radial direction aligned perpendicularly to the axis of rotation between a radially inner first functional position and a radially outer second functional position.

A conveyor system for grouping containers includes a first track including a first plurality of lugs, each lug having a respective gripper coupled thereto configured to drive containers along the first track and a second track configured to move a second plurality of lugs wherein each of the lugs is coupled to a respective gripper configured to receive containers from the first track, and move the containers along the second track wherein the grippers of the second track contact the container while the gripper of the first track contacts the container.

A gripper including a receiving end and a locking end and an absorber coupled to at least one of the ends configured to dampen contact forces imparted on the gripper, wherein the receiving end is shaped to marry a container body.

Disclosed is a first dispenser module with a product holder for holding a plurality of beverage cans and a dispensing mechanism for dispensing one beverage can of the plurality of beverage cans at a time in a dispensing direction from the product holder, wherein the product holder is arranged for holding the plurality of beverage cans with their central axes parallel to said product orientation direction. The dispensing mechanism has a retaining cam that is movable with at least a vector component in the production orientation direction between a retaining position for retaining the plurality of beverage cans and a release position for releasing the beverage cans from the product holder, wherein the retaining cam, in the retaining position, is arranged to be in the path of the top rim or the bottom rim of one of the beverage cans in the dispensing direction.

A grouping system for grouping containers including a track oriented in a horizontal plane, a plurality of lugs coupled moveably to the track, and a plurality of grippers, wherein each gripper is coupled to a lug, wherein the grippers are configured to move a stream of containers about the track.

An orientation module including a base configured to support at least one container, a camera positioned to scan the at least one container, a processor operatively connected to the camera configured to analyze an initial orientation of the container and determine a secondary orientation of the container, and a turning member positioned above the base configured to turn the corresponding container according to a command from the processor to rotate the container to the secondary orientation.

A conveyor system for grouping containers including a conveyor module configured to convey and meter a stream of containers of various dimensions a first star wheel and a second star wheel configured to move a plurality of first containers along a first travel path, wherein the first containers each have a first geometric center, and wherein the first travel path is defined by the geometric center of the first containers, and a third star wheel and a fourth star wheel configured to move a plurality of second containers along a second travel path, wherein the second containers each have a second geometric center, and wherein the second travel path is defined by the geometric center of the second containers, wherein the first travel path and the second travel path are substantially similar.