Online pallet wrapper with top press

Executive summary

An online pallet wrapper sits in the conveyor line: pallets arrive on an infeed conveyor, are wrapped on a powered turntable and leave on an outfeed conveyor with no forklift in between. A top press lowers a plate onto the load before the turntable starts, so light, tall or loose stacks cannot tip or shift while the film pulls on them. On our B200 the pneumatic top plate is an option, with a 2,000 kg turntable running at 3–12 rpm.

The wrapper is built around blue mast columns. A yellow arm carries a round press plate that comes down on top of the boxed load. The load stands on a yellow turntable while the film carriage on the mast wraps it. The push-button panel on the column is for setup, manual jog and maintenance; in line, the PLC runs each cycle from the conveyor sensors.

Table of Contents

What the top press does

Step Top press action
Pallet stops on the turntable the press plate waits above the load
Before wrapping the pneumatic plate extends down and clamps the top layer
During wrapping the plate turns with the load and keeps the stack square
Top layers wrapped the film runs up to just under the plate
End of cycle the plate lifts, the film is cut and the pallet moves on

The press holds the load from above while the film tension pulls from the side. Without it, a light or tall stack can lean, twist or lose its top layer in the first turns.

When a top press is needed

We decide on the top press from the smallest and lightest load the line will run, not the largest. Typical cases:

Load Top press?
Heavy, square cartons or bags usually not needed
Light empty bottles or containers yes, the stack has little weight to resist film pull
Stacked rolls or tubes yes, the top plate holds the rolls in place
Tall, narrow stacks yes, to stop leaning
Loose cartons not yet stretched together yes, until the first turns lock them

If the line runs only large, heavy loads, the top press can be left as an option and added later.

Online layout: conveyors and turntable

On our B200 the turntable and the loading and unloading conveyors sit in one horizontal line, so the pallet rolls straight across.

The conveyor height is matched to the line before and after; one project specified 300 mm above the floor. The packing height is measured by a sensor, so the carriage stops at the top of each load without a manual setting. Options for an online line are a pneumatic top plate, pneumatic film grab and cut-off, packing height up to 2,800 mm and turntable diameters of 1,800 or 2,000 mm.

With the film grab and cut-off, the cycle runs with no operator: pallet in, press down, wrap, press up, cut, pallet out.

Cycle time against line output

The wrapper must finish each pallet before the next one arrives. Our B100 quotation, for the automatic B-series turntable wrappers, gives a cycle of less than 2.5 min (150 s) per pallet. That is 24 pallets per hour at 150 s, excluding film reloading.

We use it here as the reference cycle; the B200 cycle for your load is confirmed at quote.

Line output Time per pallet Wrapper cycle Margin
20 pallets/h 3,600 ÷ 20 = 180 s under 150 s 180 − 150 = 30 s
24 pallets/h 3,600 ÷ 24 = 150 s under 150 s none
30 pallets/h 3,600 ÷ 30 = 120 s under 150 s too short

Result. At 20 pallets per hour there are 30 s left. The top plate stroke (down and up) and the conveyor index in and out must both fit inside those 30 s. At 30 pallets per hour the line needs a faster wrap plan or a second wrapper, confirmed at quote.

The carriage speed sets most of the cycle. At 2.9 m/min, one pass up a 1,800 mm load takes 1.8 ÷ 2.9 = 0.62 min, about 37 s, and up and down about 74 s, before the top and bottom reinforcing turns.

Main specifications

Item Value
Turntable capacity 2,000 kg (B200)
Turntable speed 3–12 rpm
Turntable diameter 1,800 or 2,000 mm option
Packing height up to 2,800 mm option
Pre-stretch up to 200%
Film loading about 10 s
Control OMRON PLC with push buttons
Top press pneumatic top plate, option
Air supply 6–8 kgf/cm² (about 0.6–0.8 MPa) and about 1,000 ml/min, from the B-series quotation; top press air confirmed at quote
Roller conveyor drive 0.75 kW, from the B-series quotation
Press plate stroke and force confirmed at quote
Film LLDPE, 0.025 mm thick, 500 mm wide

Selection checklist

  1. Smallest, lightest and tallest load on the line.
  2. Pallet size and maximum weight.
  3. Pallets per hour.
  4. Conveyor height and direction in and out.
  5. Top press, film cut-off and other options.
  6. Air supply at the machine.

Safety: EN 415-6 and ISO 12100

Pallet wrapping machines are covered by EN 415-6, with the risk assessment to ISO 12100:2010. The turning load, the moving carriage and the descending press plate are the main hazards. In an online line the wrapper zone is closed by guarding or light curtains, with the conveyors stopping when it is opened. Soft start and soft stop keep the load steady. Guarding and CE documents are agreed per project.

Engineering FAQ

Q: Can the top press be added later? A: It is an option on the B200 and is easiest to fit at the start; adding it later is confirmed at quote.

Q: Does the top press slow the line? A: It adds the time to lower and lift the plate. Check the margin as in the cycle table above.

Q: What loads need it? A: Light, tall, stacked or loose loads. Heavy square loads usually do not.

Q: Can the wrapper run without an operator? A: Yes, with conveyors, the top press and the pneumatic film grab and cut-off.

Q: How heavy can the pallet be? A: 2,000 kg on the B200 turntable.

Next step

  1. Send your smallest and largest load, weights and pallets per hour to info@fhopepack.com.
  2. We check whether the top press is needed and lay out the conveyors.
  3. We reply within 24 hours with a proposal and quotation.

Sources

  • FHOPE B200 product page; FHOPE B-series (B100) automatic pallet wrapper quotation
  • FHOPE project correspondence on top press selection
  • EN 415-6; ISO 12100:2010
  • The online wrapper with top press shown above

Last reviewed: 2026-10-19

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