Espera Nova ES-E - New flexible and sustainable weigh-/price labelling line

Espera Nova is a series of efficient weight-/price labelling machines, now expanded with the new and sustainable model Nova ES-E. The machine has a labelling speed of up to 80 packages per minute for packages weighing between 50 grams and 15 kg.

The new flexible Nova ES-E from Espera is tailored to the needs of food companies. This is assessed by Allan Hedevang, product sales manager at Scanvaegt Systems.

"We have delivered Espera systems for many years and are now launching the new machine, which is the fourth generation of weighing and labeling systems. Nova ES-E is fully automated and can be integrated into the customer's existing packaging line," says Allan Hedevang.

The machine can be configured with up to four printers: two of them are placed above the conveyor and apply labels on top of the package, while the other two sit below the conveyor and place labels on the underside of the package.

The length of the weighing table is 430-650 mm, while the speed is 80 packages per minute. The line can handle packages with a product weight from 50 grams up to 15 kg. This is a significant improvement compared to previous models, where the lowest package weight was 100 grams and the maximum weight was eight kg.

Quick product changeover

Many food companies need to changeover the machine as they run many different types of products on the line. And such a changeover time is normally time-consuming.

"On Nova ES-E, the changeover time is short because the machine can be delivered with automatically adjustable guides that ensure correct positioning (down to two mm accuracy) of the servo-controlled printers with or without label rotation. So in practice, the changeover time is ultra-short," explains Allan Hedevang, who mentions that the line can also be delivered with manual adjustment of guides.

In addition to the Nova ES-E, the Espera Nova series includes two other models; Nova ES-B, which is also a new model with a capacity of 65 trays per minute, and Nova ES-R, which is an existing machine with a capacity of 140 trays per minute.

Energy-saving and sustainable solution

Previous models required external compressed air, which has a constant power consumption - this is not necessary for Nova ES-E, which has an internal compressor solution.

"What's smart about Nova ES-E is that it only uses power when the labelling process is running. This significantly reduces energy consumption. And sustainability, especially when it comes to operating consumption, is one of the areas where our customers are placing increasing demands," points out Allan Hedevang.

Preventive maintenance prevents breakdowns

The machine has preventive service monitoring of critical components, such as the thermal head and timing belt.

"This ensures high uptime on the line, as the operator can visually see on the screen how many remaining kilometers the thermal head has and how many remaining hours the timing belt has. This means that timely preventive service can now be performed on the machine before the components break," he says.

High efficiency and capacity

According to Allan Hedevang, Industry 4.0 is also integrated into Nova ES-E in the form of artificial intelligence-based monitoring, where you can see how efficiently the line (in percentage) is being utilized, how many hours it stands still, and if there are any errors on the machine.

As something completely new, the model is also equipped with a simple 15.6-inch touch operation with swipe function between three main screens: start, production, and service.

"The new compact Nova ES-E is built on flexibility and efficiency and ensures increased capacity for the customer. Not just on the packaging line, but all the way to the finished goods warehouse. The machine can be connected to our ScanPlant production order system, so that even boxes with a certain number of packages and pallets are applied with total labels from several different printers," highlights Allan Hedevang.