Carton Packaging
Horizontal and vertical cartoning machines from 25 to 180 cartons a minute, plus the case packers, tray formers and labelers that finish a carton line.
Folded paperboard cartons for pharmaceuticals, food, and consumer goods.
Carton packaging uses folded paperboard to create boxes that protect and present products. Cartons are highly customizable in size and print quality, making them ideal for branding. They are widely used in pharmaceuticals for blister pack enclosure and in food for cereal and snack packaging.
Horizontal or vertical cartoner?
A cartoner erects a carton from a flat blank, loads the product, and closes the flaps. Horizontal cartoners such as RADPAK's RKH series hold the carton on its side and push products in from the side — the usual choice for boxed foods, blister packs, and other products that can be pushed into place.
Vertical cartoners such as the RKV series hold the carton upright and load from the top, so gravity does the work. They suit fragile or odd-shaped items placed by hand and loose, free-flowing products such as dishwasher salt or grass seed.
Intermittent or continuous motion
Intermittent (start-stop) cartoners are simple to run and suit low- and mid-speed lines: RADPAK's intermittent horizontal models run at up to 60 cartons a minute and the vertical ones at up to 30. Continuous-motion cartoners keep the carton moving through loading and closing for higher output — 140 to 180 cartons a minute on the continuous RKH models and 50 to 70 on the continuous RKV models.
Closing, dosing, and controls
Every RADPAK cartoner glues the flaps with a Nordson ProBlue hot-melt system and runs on an Allen Bradley or Siemens PLC with a touch panel on a swing arm. The large-format RKV-16S and RKV-16C can add an integrated scale that weighs a set dose of loose product straight into each carton.
Completing the carton line
Downstream, cartons are labeled, grouped, and packed into shipping cases. The PSG Top & Bottom Labeler labels the top and bottom of a carton in one pass, and RADPAK's wrap-around, top-load, and side-load case packers — or an SGE Robotica robotic case packer — pack cartons into cases ready for palletizing.
Common applications
- Pharmaceutical blister packs
- Cereal & breakfast foods
- Cosmetics & personal care
- Frozen food boxes
- Hardware & small parts
- Beverage multipacks
Buyer's guides
Carton machines
- RKV-09S — Vertical cartoning machine — intermittent motion, top-loading, up to 30 cartons/min
- RKV-09C — Vertical cartoning machine — continuous motion, top-loading, up to 70 cartons/min
- RKV-12S — Intermittent vertical cartoner for medium cartons 100–200 mm wide, top-loading fragile and
- RKV-12C — Continuous-motion vertical cartoner for medium cartons 100–200 mm wide and up to 300 mm lo
- RKV-16S — Intermittent vertical cartoner for large cartons up to 300 × 360 mm, with an optional scal
- RKV-16C — Continuous-motion vertical cartoner for large cartons up to 300 mm wide and 360 mm long, a
- RKH-06S — Intermittent-motion horizontal cartoner for small cartons 30–100 mm wide and 70–160 mm lon
- RKH-06C — Continuous-motion horizontal cartoner for small cartons 30–100 mm wide — RADPAK's fastest