Executive summary
Tubes and profiles leave the extruder or saw one at a time but ship in bundles. Counting and stacking them by hand is slow, and loose bundles open in handling. An automatic bundle making and packing machine collates the pieces, forms them into a bundle of set count and shape, and wraps the bundle in stretch film in one flow. This page covers the stations, the E200 orbital wrapper data and how to work out bundle size from the piece count.
Silver aluminium tubes travel sideways on a chain transfer table and drop into a forming station, where guides shape them into a bundle. The bundle then rolls on a powered roller conveyor into a yellow-framed orbital ring wrapper, which wraps film around it as it passes through. The control cabinet stands at the side of the line.
Table of Contents
- Why bundle and pack in one line
- How the line works
- E200 wrapper data
- Bundle size from piece count
- Selection checklist
- Safety
- Engineering FAQ
- Next step
- Related reading
- Sources
Why bundle and pack in one line
If bundles are formed in one place and wrapped in another, pieces shift in the move and the count drifts. Hand bundling also scratches anodised or polished surfaces. When the forming station feeds the wrapper directly, the bundle is wrapped in the shape it was formed, and the count per bundle is fixed by the machine.
How the line works
- Infeed: pieces arrive from the saw or extruder on a roller table.
- Transfer: a chain transfer moves pieces sideways, one at a time, and counts them.
- Form: guides at the forming station shape the pieces into a round, square or hexagonal bundle.
- Convey: the bundle runs on powered rollers to the wrapper.
- Wrap: the orbital ring wraps stretch film around the moving bundle at the set overlap.
- Outfeed: wrapped bundles collect for strapping, bagging or loading.
E200 wrapper data
| Item | FHOPE E200 horizontal stretch wrapper |
|---|---|
| Package OD | 50–200 mm |
| Package length | over 1,000 mm |
| Package weight | 8–100 kg |
| In and out conveyors | 2,000 mm each, motor driven |
| Conveying speed | 6–12 m/min |
| Overlap | 10%–90% |
| Guards | electro-welded mesh |
Larger bundles use bigger rings; forming station size and line speed are confirmed at quote.
Bundle size from piece count
Square bundle: width = pieces per row × piece OD; pieces = rows × pieces per row. Hexagonal bundle with n pieces on a side: pieces = 3n(n − 1) + 1; width across corners ≈ (2n − 1) × piece OD. The ring sees the bundle’s circumscribed circle, so for a square bundle check the diagonal = width × √2 against the package OD. For 25 mm tube in a square bundle of 5 rows by 5, there are 25 pieces, the bundle is 125 mm wide and its diagonal is about 177 mm, inside the E200’s 200 mm. A 6 by 6 bundle is 150 mm wide but about 212 mm across the diagonal, so it needs the next ring size. A hexagon with 4 pieces on a side holds 37 pieces and is about 175 mm across (example only).
Selection checklist
- Piece shape, OD or section, and length?
- Pieces per bundle and bundle shape?
- Pieces per minute from the saw or extruder?
- Film, paper or both?
- Strapping or bagging after wrapping?
- Surface finish that must not be scratched?
Safety
We design bundling lines to EN ISO 12100:2010 for risk assessment, EN 415-10 for packaging machine safety and EN 60204-1 for electrical equipment. The ring is behind mesh guards, and soft start and stop keeps bundles steady.
Engineering FAQ
Q: Can the line handle different tube sizes? A: Yes; forming guides and count reset per recipe.
Q: Can it run inline with the saw? A: Yes, the infeed table takes pieces straight from the saw.
Q: Is film enough to hold the bundle? A: Film holds light bundles well; heavier bundles also get PET or steel straps at an inline strapping station after the wrapper.
Q: Can an E200 be added to an existing bundler? A: Yes, the E200 can be connected to the end of a bundling machine.
Next step
- Send your piece sizes, bundle count, length and output to info@fhopepack.com.
- We lay out transfer, forming and wrapping.
- We reply within 24 hours with a proposal and quotation.
Related reading
- E200 horizontal stretch wrapper (product)
- Horizontal full-auto aluminium rods and profiles wrapping machine (video)
- Automatic bundle making and film binding machine (video)
- Aluminum profile bundle bag packing machine (video)
Sources
- FHOPE product page: E200 horizontal stretch wrapper
- FHOPE project correspondence on bundling lines
- EN ISO 12100:2010; EN 415-10; EN 60204-1
- The bundle making line shown above
Last reviewed: 2026-10-20
