How to improve the production speed of paper bag machine? Key technological bottlenecks and breakthroughs

A groundbreaking paper bag machine has increased the speed of manufacturing in China from 100 to 150 pieces per minute, and behind it lies the secret of efficiency revolution in the packaging industry.

In 2011, a production workshop of a company in Suzhou produced China's first fully automatic roll paper bag machine. This machine stands out among similar equipment both domestically and internationally with a production speed of 150 pieces per minute and an accuracy of 0.1mm. Compared to the equipment that generally did not exceed 100 pieces per minute in China at that time, its emergence not only represents a leap in speed, but also heralds the beginning of technological upgrading in China's paper bag manufacturing industry.

As a core equipment in the packaging industry, the production speed of paper bag machines directly affects the production capacity and economic benefits of enterprises. With the acceleration of the trend of replacing plastic products with eco-friendly paper bags, the market's demand for efficient paper bag production equipment is becoming increasingly urgent.

Electronic axis and multi axis synchronous control technology, breaking through the bottleneck of traditional mechanical structures
The traditional paper bag machine adopts mechanical long axis transmission, like a restrained dancer, with clumsy and limited movements. The mechanical transmission structure is complex, not only occupying a large space and difficult to maintain, but more importantly, the synchronization accuracy between each unit is limited, making it difficult to achieve precise coordination under high-speed operation.

The electronic shaft (electronic gear) technology introduced by Siemens Factory Automation Engineering Co., Ltd. (SFAE) has become the key to solving this bottleneck. In a paper bag machine project, engineers used Siemens' advanced SIMOTION D425 motion controller to achieve virtual axis coupling between servo axes through software algorithms.

The core of electronic axis technology is to replace physical mechanical axes with "virtual electronic axes". Each work unit is driven by independent servo motors, and the motion controller achieves millisecond level synchronous control through high-speed industrial Ethernet. This design brings three advantages:

Simplify mechanical structure: remove complex gearboxes, transmission shafts, and cam mechanisms to reduce mechanical inertia and maintenance difficulty
Improve dynamic response: SINAMICS A10 servo system provides high dynamic response, and the driver comes with a high-speed pulse input port, saving IO modules
Realize precise synchronization: Each unit maintains strict synchronization during high-speed operation, with position errors controlled within ± 0.1mm
The patent for the bottom card conveying mechanism of a paper bag machine launched by a company in Wuhu in 2024 further optimizes this technological direction. The anti card mechanism design achieves horizontal stacking and automatic conveying of bottom cards through servo control, significantly reducing downtime caused by card jamming and increasing production line efficiency by more than 30%.

Dual line parallel production architecture, redefining equipment capacity limits
The development of single line paper bag machines is facing physical limitations. When the speed reaches a certain threshold, problems such as mechanical vibration and material tension control increase exponentially. The dual line parallel technology cleverly avoids this dilemma and becomes a strategic choice to break through the bottleneck of production capacity.

Dual line production is not simply adding a "1+1=2" logic to a production line, but rather redesigning the overall architecture of the machine. The bag making machine double line production device developed by a certain equipment manufacturer in Guangdong uses a slitting knife to accurately divide the raw paper along the central axis, forming two equally wide paper strips. Each paper tape undergoes independent gluing, forming, and cutting processes, sharing the same power source and control system.

The key innovation of this architecture lies in spatial reuse and collaborative control:

Innovation of slitting module: The circular slitting blade is installed with a hinged bracket to ensure the accuracy of cutting the centerline of the raw paper and eliminate the snake like movement phenomenon in traditional slitting
Dual channel glue coating system: The automatic edge glue component is equipped with dual glue heads and liquid level sensors to monitor the glue quantity status of the two production lines in real time, avoiding waste caused by insufficient glue
Synchronous interruption technology: The interruption roller in the paper pressure interruption component is precisely aligned with the needle tooth line positions of the two paper tapes, while completing the cutting and separation of dual path products
The efficiency improvement brought by the dual line architecture is remarkable. Actual application data shows that compared to the traditional single line bag making machine's daily production capacity of about 300000 pieces, the double line equipment can achieve a daily production capacity of 540000 pieces, an increase of up to 80%. However, the equipment footprint only increased by about 25%, and energy consumption increased by less than 40%, significantly optimizing the input-output ratio.

The innovation of a company in Shandong has further developed this concept. Their high-speed bag making machine's single step feeding device integrates processes such as feeding, heat sealing, and cutting blades. By optimizing the feeding route, the equipment length is reduced by 30%. At the same time, it is equipped with a raw material dust removal device to improve speed while ensuring product quality.

Online switching and intelligent compensation technology to solve the problem of production continuity
The specification switching in paper bag production is like a toll station on a highway, where traditional methods require equipment to slow down or even stop for adjustment, seriously restricting overall efficiency. The dual cam curve technology developed by Siemens has successfully solved this industry pain point.

The core of this technology lies in pre setting multiple sets of cam curve parameters in the motion controller. When the operator selects a new bag type on the human-machine interface, the system automatically smoothly switches the electronic cam curve, and each axis runs synchronously again according to the new phase relationship. This process is like a symphony orchestra conductor seamlessly switching tracks, allowing musicians to enter a new playing rhythm without pausing.

Intelligent compensation technology solves the accuracy problem caused by material fluctuations. The "marking mode" in the production of paper bag machines detects the position of the color mark through high-speed photoelectric sensors and adjusts the position of the cutting blade in real time using a dedicated algorithm developed by Siemens. This dynamic compensation mechanism ensures that even if the substrate undergoes tensile deformation, the cutting accuracy of the bag can still remain stable within a range of ± 0.2mm.

The anti jamming design applied by a company in Wuhu in the bottom card conveying mechanism reflects similar intelligent thinking. Its patented technology effectively prevents the bottom card from getting caught in the gap of the conveyor belt by installing a special guiding mechanism on the conveyor bracket, solving the problem of 2-3 card stops that may occur per hour in traditional equipment. This passive error prevention device does not require sensors and control systems, but greatly improves the continuous operation time of the equipment.

The patent for automatic alignment and adjustment of incisions, which was publicly announced in 2024, represents the latest breakthrough in this field. This technology uses a harmonic reducer to construct a precision differential mechanism, and adjusts the phase of the cutter roller in real-time through a servo motor. When adjusting the position of the incision, the rotating motor drives the harmonic reducer to generate a speed difference, which can complete position compensation within 0.5 seconds, while traditional manual adjustment takes more than 5 minutes.

Modular and standardized design to shorten equipment iteration cycle
The diversified demands of paper bag machines are in conflict with the requirements for fast delivery. The Siemens TIA fully integrated automation solution solves this problem through standardized electrical platforms and modular programming.

At the hardware level, Siemens has defined the "golden model" configuration for paper bag machines: a standardized combination of SIMATIC motion controller, SINAMICS A10 servo drive, 1FK2 motor, and distributed IO. This platform supports common DC bus design, and drivers can be installed side by side, saving more than 30% of cabinet space.

Breakthroughs at the software level are even more crucial. A rich motion control library developed based on the TIA Portal platform, which encapsulates complex functions such as electronic gear synchronization, cam curve generation, and color code tracking into standard process blocks. Equipment manufacturers only need to call upon these prefabricated functional blocks, greatly reducing the programming and debugging cycle.

The waistless paper bag machine launched by a certain machinery company in 2025 will take the modular concept to a new height. Its equipment has the ability to quickly change four core modules:

Double splicing module: supports tool free switching of paper bags of different widths
Fully automatic rope threading module: replacing traditional manual rope threading process
Intelligent glue application module: equipped with real-time monitoring and alarm function for glue quantity
High speed cutting module: using servo driven cutting blades, there is no need to replace the blade holder when changing the type
The benefits of modular design are directly reflected in the equipment debugging time. The traditional paper bag machine requires multiple people to debug for 8 hours to switch specifications, while this equipment only takes 30-60 minutes, increasing debugging efficiency by more than 8 times.

The research on the production line of fully automatic paper yarn composite bag making machine based on PLC has confirmed the value of this direction. The system developed by Lanzhou University of Technology integrates the coordinated control of glue tank temperature, bag length, and shear speed through standardized control modules, making the equipment suitable for multi variety batch production and reducing the scrap rate by 60%.

The technological high ground for breakthroughs in the speed of future paper bag machines
The next battlefield of the paper bag machine speed competition is clearly visible. The current operating efficiency of a certain paper bag machine is 2500-3000 pieces/hour, but the design target is aimed at 4500 pieces/hour. Realizing this leap requires multi technology integration and innovation.

The combination of machine vision and artificial intelligence will be a key breakthrough point. Traditional photoelectric sensors can only recognize high contrast color codes, while vision systems based on deep learning can recognize features such as paper texture and printed patterns, achieving more reliable position tracking. This will expand the machine's adaptability from solid color paper bags to complex printed pattern products.

Direct drive motor technology is fundamentally changing the mechanical transmission structure. The design of Shandong Jinxiang Paper to remove the gearbox from the stepper feeding mechanism represents this trend. Integrating direct drive motors directly into executing components such as cutter rolls and printing rolls can eliminate transmission gaps, improve dynamic response, and reduce mechanical maintenance requirements.

Digital twin technology may bring disruptive changes to paper bag machines. Building a complete digital model of the device in a virtual environment can pre validate the production process parameters of the new bag type, compressing actual debugging time by more than 90%. In conjunction with remote operation and maintenance systems, equipment manufacturers can monitor the real-time status of machines in global customer factories, predict faults in advance, and provide optimization suggestions.

The innovation of material handling systems is equally important. The optimization of auxiliary systems such as automatic splicing of roll paper, intelligent tension control, and static elimination, although not directly affecting mechanical speed, is the foundation for ensuring continuous high-speed operation of equipment. A perfect paper bag production system, like a carefully arranged symphony, where every detail affects the overall performance.

The waist less paper bag machine launched by a certain machinery company replaces the efficiency of five traditional models with one device, compressing the debugging time from 8 hours to 30 minutes and pushing the production efficiency to a new height of 3000 pieces per hour. Behind these numbers are countless engineers' persistent pursuit of millisecond level synchronous control and micrometer level positioning accuracy.

The evolution path of paper bag machines is still extending. In the future factory, 4500 devices per hour may just be the starting point. The mechanical shafts, camshafts, and gears that once constrained production efficiency are now being replaced by electronic signals and algorithms, and every technological breakthrough is reshaping our understanding of the word 'speed'.