A form-fill-seal system includes a tube feeding system, an end seal carriage (420), and a computing device. The tube feeding system feeds a tube (410) of flexible material at a first velocity (v1). The computing device controls the end seal carriage (420) to cause an increase in a velocity of the end seal carriage to substantially the first velocity (v1), a start of a dwell time of the end seal mechanism (424, 422) on the tube (410) of flexible material while the velocity of the end seal carriage is at substantially the first velocity (v1), and an increase in the velocity of the end seal carriage to a second velocity (v2) during the dwell time. The end seal mechanism cuts a package (440) from the tube during the dwell time. The increase in the velocity of the end seal carriage to the second velocity (v2) results in an increased distance of the package from the tube.

A system and method for producing a disposable undergarment, with the lateral edges of the undergarment bonded by means of an ultrasonic horn. When a blank is formed for an individual undergarment, the lateral edges of opposing edges of the blank will form the seam. When the edges are sealed together, a seam is formed. The individual undergarments may be later separated along the seams.

A system and method for controlling the speed of both a continuous web and a bonding apparatus is provided in order to effectuate stronger bonds in the web. The bonding system includes a velocity changing device for increasing and decreasing a velocity of the web in a machine direction, an anvil and a corresponding ultrasonic horn that interact to form ultrasonic bonds on the web, and an anvil actuator configured to control a movement of the anvil. A control system is also included in the bonding system for controlling operation of the anvil actuator the velocity changing device, with the control system programmed to decrease a moving velocity of the web from a feed velocity to a bonding velocity as the web passes between the anvil and the ultrasonic horn and control movement of the anvil to synchronize the movement of the anvil with the moving velocity of the web.

A system and method for producing a disposable undergarment, with the lateral edges of the undergarment bonded by means of an ultrasonic horn. When a blank is formed for an individual undergarment, the lateral edges of opposing edges of the blank will form the seam. When the edges are sealed together, a seam is formed. The individual undergarments may be later separated along the seams.

A joining device includes a pair of cylindrical rotors 210 and 220, holding surfaces 211 and 221 of which for holding a pair of sheet-like members 30, respectively, have a width smaller than a width of the pair of sheet-like members 30. The joining device has a conveyance unit 200 which superimposes the pair of sheet-like members sequentially while conveying the pair of sheet-like members, by rotating the pair of cylindrical rotors, and joining units (first joining units 300) which join portions of the superimposed pair of sheet-like members to each other sequentially, the portions protruding beyond the holding surfaces of the cylindrical rotors.

A system and method for producing a disposable undergarment, with the lateral edges of the undergarment bonded by means of an ultrasonic horn. When a blank is formed for an individual undergarment, the lateral edges of opposing edges of the blank will form the seam. When the edges are sealed together, a seam is formed. The individual undergarments may be later separated along the seams.

An improved ultrasonic system and method. The ultrasonic stack is moved at a low, constant (or slowly varying) speed at the initiation of the welding operation, with this speed being maintained until the predetermined condition is satisfied. In some applications, this produces a higher quality weld, such as in applications involving plastic material that softens very quickly once ultrasonic energy is imparted to the workpieces being welded, which causes the force between the workpieces to decrease rapidly. Advancing the ultrasonic stack at a low speed or slow acceleration can avoid scuffing or marking of the surface of the workpiece in contact with the ultrasonic horn, decrease audible noise produced during the welding process, and improve the consistency of weld quality in such applications compared to conventional techniques.

A system and method for producing a disposable undergarment, with the lateral edges of the undergarment bonded by means of an ultrasonic horn. When a blank is formed for an individual undergarment, the lateral edges of opposing edges of the blank will form the seam. When the edges are sealed together, a seam is formed. The individual undergarments may be later separated along the seams.

A structure method accurately detects biting of a foreign object in a packaging machine. A control apparatus controls a packaging machine that sequentially seals and/or cuts a packaging material transported in a first direction using a rotor. The rotor is arranged to have a tangent to its outer circumference portion in contact with the packaging material extending in the first direction. The rotor is drivable and rotatable by a driver. The control apparatus includes an information obtaining unit that obtains information indicating a rotational position of the rotor and a status value of the driver in predetermined cycles, and a determination unit that determines a presence of an abnormality in a sealed portion of the packaging material using, from the information obtained by the information obtaining unit, a status value of the driver corresponding to a rotational position of the rotor falling within a predetermined range or being a predetermined position.

A method and apparatus for making pouches is disclosed. It includes using one or more of the following features: using two servo motors to drive a platen, providing a calibration routine is run at start-up and/or after the machine has been operating; controlling in response to feed back from the servo motor(s) such as feedback indicative of the distance the platen travels; the feedback is not of force exerted by the platen; and/or the platen is controlled to prevent unacceptable fracturing of the film laminate.