#cartonaccumulationtable

Circular Conveyor Carton Accumulation Table in Packaging & Filling Lines: Engineering Functions and Applications Packaging and filling lines move cartons at high throughput across sealing, labeling, checkweighing, coding, and case-packing stations. Each station operates at its own cycle time. Those timing mismatches create carton surges and downstream station starvation without a capable buffer. A circular conveyor solves that problem as a carton accumulation table at the mechanical level. The rotating platform recirculates cartons continuously around the carousel track. Consequently, every downstream station draws cartons on demand without manual restacking or line stoppages. Furthermore, circular conveyor accumulation tables fit naturally into packaging hall floor plans where straight accumulation conveyors consume excessive linear footage. The circular geometry concentrates buffer capacity into a compact rotating footprint. TallMan Robotics engineers circular conveyors for carton accumulation table duty across beverage, food, pharmaceutical, and personal care filling lines. 

Rotating Disc Architecture and Carrier Recirculation in Circular Conveyor for Carton Accumulation Table

A circular conveyor accumulation table uses a large-diameter rotating disc platform. The disc surface supports cartons across the full carousel area. A fixed discharge guide at the platform perimeter channels cartons toward the outfeed lane when the downstream station signals ready. The platform drive runs on a central servo motor with variable speed control. That motor adjusts rotation speed in real time to match downstream machine demand. Additionally, the circular accumulation platform holds cartons in a first-in, first-out sequence. A Mondelēz International Suzhou biscuit packaging line installed a circular conveyor accumulation table between its flow-wrap station and its case-packer in Q1 2023. That installation buffered 180 cartons on a 2.4-meter diameter table. Consequently, the case-packer maintained continuous infeed through four upstream flow-wrap format changeovers without a single machine stop . Table 1: Circular Conveyor for Carton Accumulation Table vs. Straight Roller Accumulation Conveyor — Key Parameters for Packaging & Filling Lines Parameter Circular Conveyor Accumulation Table Straight Roller Accumulation Conveyor Packaging & Filling Line Relevance Footprint Shape Compact rotating disc or ring Linear run up to 8 m Fits tight packaging hall floor plans Buffer Capacity 180+ cartons (2.4 m disc) 40–80 cartons (4 m straight) Handles format-change surges Dead-Plate Zones Zero — continuous rotating surface 2–4 dead-plate transfers per run Eliminates jam risk >200 cpm Surface Standard FDA 21 CFR Part 177 food-grade Carbon steel with coating (chips over time) Allows direct carton contact on GMP lines Washdown Rating IP65 drive enclosure, CIP-compatible IP54 typical; no CIP rating Multi-product pharmaceutical changeovers Drive Decoupling Variable servo speed, 2–15 rpm Fixed belt speed Absorbs upstream surge events Handshake Signal SMEMA-compatible I/O Relay I/O adapter required Direct link to labeler & checkweigher Fieldbus Port Modbus TCP or PROFINET Digital I/O only (most models) Full SCADA live carton count & fill level

Variable-Speed Servo Drive and Station Decoupling

A circular conveyor accumulation table runs one servo-controlled variable-speed drive. The infeed station deposits cartons onto the rotating disc at the upstream machine’s output rate. Meanwhile, the fixed outfeed guide channels cartons off the disc at the downstream machine’s input rate. The rotating disc holds the rate difference across the full carousel surface area. This action absorbs upstream surge events without transmitting stoppage signals to downstream equipment. Moreover, the servo drive communicates with upstream and downstream machines via SMEMA-compatible I/O signals. The machine-ready and carton-available handshake allows the circular accumulation table to respond within one platform rotation increment. That increment adjusts between 2 and 15 rpm on TallMan carton accumulation tables. As a result, labeling machines and checkweighers downstream maintain continuous carton input across full production shifts. A Unilever Hefei personal care filling line ran a packaging line flow audit in Q3 2023. That audit documented circular conveyor accumulation table performance between its filling station and its labeling machine. InstallingTallMan circular accumulation table eliminated all manual carton restacking events between filling and labeling across an 8-hour shift .

Food-Grade Disc Surface and Carton Size Range

TallMan carton accumulation table uses a food-grade stainless steel disc surface with a low-friction UHMW-PE top sheet. Engineers specify disc diameters from 1.2 meters to 3.6 meters. This range accommodates carton sizes from 60 mm square base to 300 mm square base. The platform edge carries a fixed perimeter guard rail. That rail prevents carton tip-over at disc speeds up to 15 rpm. Furthermore, the platform surface meets FDA 21 CFR Part 177 food-contact material requirements. That compliance allows direct carton contact on beverage, dairy, and pharmaceutical filling lines without intermediate trays. Without this compliance, filling lines require separate conveyor covers at every accumulation point. In contrast, standard carbon steel roller conveyors require surface coatings that chip and contaminate product environments. That surface degradation forces maintenance shutdowns on GMP-regulated lines. Table 2: Packaging and Filling Stations Mapped to Circular Conveyor Carton Accumulation Table Functions Packaging / Filling Station Circular Accumulation Table Function TallMan Conveyor Spec Industry Standard Filler / Capper Buffer filled cartons before labeling Disc dia. 1.2–3.6 m; FIFO rotation FDA 21 CFR Part 211 cGMP Labeling Machine Accumulate labeled cartons for checkweigher Variable speed 2–15 rpm servo EU GMP Annex 1 Checkweigher Hold cartons before coding / inkjet SMEMA I/O response ≤1 rotation step OIML R 51-1 checkweigher standard Inkjet / Laser Coder Pace carton feed to coder at input rate Modbus TCP / PROFINET fieldbus ISO 15378 primary packaging code Cartoner / Case-Packer Buffer during upstream format changeover Guard rail — no tip-over at 15 rpm OMAC PackML state machine Pharmaceutical Blister Line CIP wash-down between product lots IP65 drive; crevice-free disc joints EU GMP Annex 1 / 21 CFR Part 211

GMP Washdown Compliance and Dead-Plate Elimination

Pharmaceutical carton lines operate under EU GMP Annex 1 and FDA 21 CFR Part 211 cGMP standards. TallMan builds the circular conveyor accumulation table with washdown-rated IP65 drive enclosures, sealed bearing housings, and crevice-free disc joints. Those design choices allow full CIP wash-down cycles between product changeovers on multi-product pharmaceutical filling lines. In addition, the circular platform eliminates the dead-plate transfer zones present in straight accumulation conveyors. Those dead-plate zones jam lightweight folding cartons on high-speed lines running above 200 cartons per minute. A continuous rotating circular platform carries no dead-plate zones. Consequently, circular conveyor carton accumulation tables record zero jam events attributable to dead-plate transfer at normal production speeds. Syntegon Technology Waiblingen documented carton accumulation performance on a pharmaceutical blister-to-carton packaging line in 2023. That line integrated TallMan circular conveyor accumulation tables at each station handoff across its cartoning-to-case-packing sequence. The facility recorded zero carton jam events over nine months of continuous operation .

SCADA Fieldbus Integration and Dynamic Mode Switching

Each TallMan circular conveyor accumulation table exposes a Modbus TCP or PROFINET fieldbus port. The line SCADA system reads live carton count, platform rotation speed, and disc fill level through that port. Therefore, packaging line supervisors identify which accumulation table approaches full capacity and adjust upstream filler speed before overflow. In addition, the SCADA commands the circular table to switch between accumulation mode and pass-through mode dynamically. This flexibility lets the line run without accumulation during steady-state production and engage buffer mode only during format changes.

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