E600 Orbital Stretch Wrapper: Integrated Motor and Cardboard Tray Packaging System

Executive summary The FHOPE E600 horizontal orbital stretch wrapper binds an electric motor and its supporting cardboard tray into a single, rigid transport unit using a continuous spiral of LLDPE stretch film. By wrapping both the motor casing and the tray together, the machine eliminates transit shifting, shields machined shafts and electrical junction boxes from moisture, and maintains an integral skid base for forklift handling. Designed for in-line integration, the E600 processes unit loads with cross-sections up to 600 mm, lengths exceeding 800 mm, and package weights from 20 to 200 kg.

Table of Contents

Why wrap the motor and tray together

Securing heavy electric motors on corrugated trays poses two distinct mechanical packaging challenges:

  1. Dynamic Slip and Shock Displacement: Traditional steel or polyester (PET) strapping applies concentrated linear tension. During fork-truck transit or emergency braking, the narrow contact area of straps can crush cardboard fluting or allow smooth-painted cast-iron stators to slip longitudinally off the pallet base.
  2. Environmental Degradation: Strapping leaves exposed machined drive shafts, terminal connection boxes, and venting cowls vulnerable to ambient moisture, industrial dust, and salt spray oxidation during storage and export shipping.

Orbital stretch wrapping resolves both issues simultaneously. Rotating an orbital film carriage continuously through the horizontal eye of the product creates a multi-layered, structural film cocoon.

+-------------------------------------------------------------+
|                     LLDPE Spiral Overwrap                   |
|   +-----------------------------------------------------+   |
|   |         Electric Motor (Drive Shaft + Stator)       |   |
|   +-----------------------------------------------------+   |
|   |          Folded Corrugated Board / Tray Base        |   |
|   +-----------------------------------------------------+   |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
                               |
               Roller Conveyor Bed Support (3-12 m/min)

The high residual elastic tension of the LLDPE film anchors the motor rigidly against the high-friction surface of the cardboard tray while enveloping the entire circumference in a dust-tight, splash-proof shell. The flat bottom profile of the tray remains clean and stable for roller conveyor conveying, automated warehousing, or palletizing.

How a tray passes through the ring

The packaging process follows a fully automated five-stage sequence governed by an industrial PLC:

  1. Infeed Positioning: The operator or upstream production conveyor transfers the motor, pre-seated on its cardboard tray, onto the powered infeed roller conveyor in single file.
  2. Optical Sensor Verification: A photo-eye sensor array monitors entry edge positioning, calculates product length dynamically, and triggers the pneumatic hold-down devices.
  3. Orbital Spiral Wrapping: The main structural ring accelerates smoothly to its target rotation speed (10–90 r/min) via variable-frequency drive (VFD). As the roller conveyor propels the tray forward horizontally through the ring opening, film is applied in an overlapping spiral. The motor package maintains pure horizontal linear transit without rotating.
  4. Mechanical Cut and Clamp: Upon completing the programmed tail-end reinforcement wraps, an integrated pneumatic hot-wire or mechanical serrated cutter severs the film web, while a trailing clamp secures the film tail against the underside of the tray to prevent unraveling.
  5. Outfeed Discharge: The fully bound assembly transfers onto the outfeed idle or gravity roller section for labeling, robotic sorting, or dispatch.

Both ring rotational velocity and conveyor feed rates are digitally calibrated from the touch screen interface, permitting rapid changeovers across multiple motor frame sizes.

Holding a short, heavy package steady

When short, dense products pass through the open gap between infeed and outfeed conveyors, film unwinding tension can generate significant overturning moments. For eccentric electric motors, this tangential pull can cause pitching, yawing, or premature tray buckling.

       [Pneumatic Top Hold-Down Roller] (0.2–0.5 MPa)
                      ↓
  +---------------------------------------+
  |             Motor Body                | ---> Linear Travel (v)
  +---------------------------------------+
  |            Cardboard Tray             |
  +---------------------------------------+
    [Infeed Roller]       |Gap|       [Outfeed Roller]
                          |   |
                          ↑   ↓
               Rotational Film Pull (F_t)

The E600 maintains mechanical stability through three primary engineering controls:

  • Self-Weight Stabilization with Guide Rollers: Centered motors rely partly on their own gravitational center of mass. Horizontally adjustable conical guide rollers on both conveyor borders center the tray track-line before it enters the wrapping plane.
  • Pneumatic Overhead Hold-Down Cylinders: Dual vertical pneumatic press mechanisms fitted with non-marking, high-rebound polyurethane (PU) rollers exert an adjustable stabilizing force (typically 0.2–0.5 MPa). This stabilizes the stator without crushing thin cardboard flanges or marring motor paintwork.
  • Synchronized Gap Bridging: The infeed and outfeed top presses operate under staggered PLC timing, ensuring at least one positive vertical clamp remains engaged while the package bridges the central rotating ring gap.

E600 specifications

Technical Parameter Engineering Value Unit / Standard
Passage Window / Section Size 200–600 (W × H clearance) mm
Minimum Product Length 800 (or ≥ 800 mm combined tray length) mm
Allowable Package Weight 20–200 kg
Infeed / Outfeed Conveyors 2,000 × 800 (L × W) powered roller mm
Ring Rotation Speed 10–90 (VFD adjustable) r/min
Conveyor Feed Speed 3–12 (VFD adjustable) m/min
Film Overlap Range 10–90 %
Wrapping Consumables LLDPE stretch film, paper, or woven tape Film Core ID: 50 / 76 mm
Consumable Width 150–300 mm
Control Architecture Siemens / Delta PLC + Color HMI Dedicated digital logic
Pneumatic Supply Pressure 0.5–0.8 (5–8 kgf/cm²) MPa
Installed Electrical Power ~4.5 kW, AC 380 V, 50 Hz, 3-Phase Neutral + Protective Earth

Worked example: a motor on a cardboard tray

Consider a mid-size cast-iron induction motor measuring 900 mm in total length (including shaft extension) with a 300 × 300 mm square profile, weighing 80 kg. It rests on a corrugated cardboard tray measuring 900 mm (L) × 320 mm (W) × 20 mm (H). The wrapping requirement specifies 200 mm wide LLDPE film applied at a target 50% overlap.

1. Geometric Passage Clearance

The total wrapped cross-section equals:

  • Total Width (W): 320 mm
  • Total Height (H): 300 mm + 20 mm = 320 mm
  • Diagonal Envelope: √(320² + 320²) = √(102,400 + 102,400) = √204,800 ≈ 452.5 mm

With an envelope diameter of 452.5 mm, the assembly clears the internal structural ring diameter of 600 mm comfortably, leaving a dynamic radial clearance exceeding 70 mm for the film dispenser carriage path.

2. Length and Weight Verification

  • Length Constraint: The package length is 900 mm, clearing the standard 800 mm minimum bridging threshold between infeed and outfeed conveyor tables.
  • Payload Capacity: The total 80 kg unit mass falls safely within the 20–200 kg rated conveyor and bearing capacity.

3. Kinematic Pitch and Conveyor Speed

Accounting for a standard mechanical film tension neck-in reduction of 10% (effective film width W_eff = 180 mm), a 50% overlap requires an axial advance pitch (P) per ring revolution of:

P = 180 mm × (1 - 0.50) = 90 mm/rev = 0.09 m/rev

The linear conveyor velocity (v) and ring rotational speed (n) relate directly:

v = n × 0.09 m/min

To stay within the conveyor’s operating window of 3 to 12 m/min:

  • At n = 45 r/min: v = 45 × 0.09 = 4.05 m/min
  • Total transit time across the 0.9 m product body: (0.9 m ÷ 4.05 m/min) × 60 s/min = 13.3 s
  • Adding programmed end-reinforcement wraps (2 turns at front, 2 turns at rear) adds approximately 5.3 seconds, yielding a total cycle time of roughly 19 seconds per assembly.

4. Consumable Film Demand

  • Perimeter of Package: 2 × (0.32 m + 0.32 m) = 1.28 m
  • Body Revolutions: 900 mm ÷ 90 mm/pitch = 10 revolutions
  • Total Revolutions (with end wraps): 10 + 4 = 14 revolutions
  • Applied Film Length: 14 rev × 1.28 m = 17.92 m

Under standard mechanical pre-stretch carriage settings running at 150% elongation (ratio 1:2.5), actual film drawn from the parent roll is reduced to approximately 17.92 m ÷ 2.5 ≈ 7.17 m, significantly lowering consumable cost per unit.

Selection checklist: what to send us

To ensure exact mechanical clearances and conveyor load sizing for your line, please prepare the following technical parameters:

  1. Motor Dimensions: Maximum length (including shaft extension), width, frame center height, and junction box offsets.
  2. Tray Specifications: Width, length, board thickness, fluting grade, and fold-up lip height.
  3. Weight Metrics: Bare motor mass, tray tare weight, and maximum combined load.
  4. Target Throughput: Required wrapped packages per hour or conveyor line takt time.
  5. Surface Sensitivities: Critical surfaces requiring soft-touch tooling (e.g., painted finishes, protruding grease nipples, or high-precision shaft keys).
  6. Consumable Selection: Film preference (standard LLDPE stretch film, anti-corrosion VCI film, kraft paper, or woven tape) and roll specifications.

Safety and EN 415-10

The FHOPE E600 series is engineered in full compliance with European Safety Standard EN 415-10 (Safety of Packaging Machines – Modular packaging plants) and undergoes risk assessment validation under ISO 12100:2010.

  • Mechanical Risk Mitigation: The high-inertia rotating ring assembly and mechanical film carriage are fully encapsulated within a rigid steel protection shroud to prevent operator entrapment.
  • In-Running Nip Hazards: Conveyor junction points and overhead pneumatic clamp cylinders feature physical interlocked safety guarding or Category 4 safety light curtains.
  • Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Compliance: Main electrical disconnects and pneumatic dump valves comply with standard OSHA and CE safety isolation protocols. Operators must isolate pneumatic and electrical inputs prior to entering the ring envelope for film reel changes or clearing line jams.

Engineering FAQ

Q: Can the E600 wrap bare motors without a cardboard tray? A: Yes, provided the bare motor frame exhibits a stable bottom footprint, exceeds the 800 mm minimum conveyor bridging length, and does not have vulnerable lower grease drain plugs that could snag on conveyor rollers.

Q: Does every motor shape require overhead pneumatic press rollers? A: No. Low-center-of-mass motors weighing over 40 kg resting on broad cardboard trays often rely purely on gravity and lateral conical guide rollers. The soft-touch PU overhead clamp is active primarily for tall, top-heavy, or lightweight (< 30 kg) assemblies subject to film pull tipping.

Q: Can integrated weighing systems be installed directly on the wrapper frame? A: Yes. Infeed or outfeed conveyor sections can be equipped with load cell weigh bridges and integrated industrial barcoding scanners to transmit gross payload data directly to factory MES/ERP platforms.

Q: What safety design standard governs CE-certified installations? A: Machines destined for CE jurisdictions follow EN 415-10 for packaging machine safety, EN ISO 13849-1 for control system functional safety circuits, and ISO 12100 for holistic risk assessment.

Next step

  1. Submit Product Data: Send your motor outline drawings, tray boundary dimensions, target cycle times, and electrical voltage requirements to info@fhopepack.com.
  2. Engineering Review: Our application team will return a customized proposal within 24 hours, including calculated film consumption rates and conveyor interface specifications.
  3. Layout Integration: We supply complete 2D/3D CAD integration drawings covering conveyor elevations, safety perimeter fences, and electrical interface schematics.

Sources

  • Equipment Specifications: FHOPE E600 Horizontal Orbital Stretch Wrapper Technical Data
  • Machine Operation Video: FHOPE Horizontal Orbital Stretch Wrapper for Motor and Tray on YouTube
  • Kinematics & Film Calculations: FHOPE Engineering Technical Calculation Standard (ETCS-M600)
  • Machine Safety Compliance: EN 415-10:2014 (Packaging machines safety – Part 10: General requirements); ISO 12100:2010 (Safety of machinery – General principles for design – Risk assessment and risk reduction)

Last reviewed: 2026-10-17

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