I remember last summer, Mr. Wang from a well-established candy factory in Fujian broke into our workshop with a few bags of samples and poured out a bunch of hard candies in the shape of stars and shells: "The machines on the market can't wrap this kind of special-shaped candies, can you customize it?" At that time, the workshop was busy debugging conventional equipment, but seeing Mr. Wang sweating anxiously, we took on this "sweet challenge" without saying a word.
Packaging special-shaped candies is indeed a headache. Traditional candy packaging machines are OK for cubes and balls, but when they encounter thin and crispy star candies or angular shell candies, they either get stuck or the seal is crooked. Our team spent three days in the customer's workshop observing and found that the biggest problem was that the candy blocks were not in a fixed position - the "little stars" on the conveyor belt confused the photoelectric sensor. We immediately customized a dual-channel material sorting system for the candy packaging machine, first using a vibration plate to adjust the direction of the candy blocks, and then using a visual camera for secondary correction. Last week, the customer sent a video showing that each star in the formed candy bag was "standing" straight and bright. Mr. Wang was happy on the phone: "This equipment is neater than my child's building blocks!" The flexible production line is the core of this customization. The candy factory produces eight different specifications of candy blocks at the same time, from 10 grams of mini candies to 50 grams of holiday gift candies, with a wide range of packaging lengths. We replaced the equipment with a retractable film rack and equipped it with an intelligent correction device. Now, to change specifications, you only need to click on the preset parameters on the touch screen. Their operator Xiao Li joked: "This machine is like a Transformer. You can change clothes by stretching your arms and legs." When I visited them last month, they were producing the Mid-Autumn Festival limited edition. I saw that the same candy packaging machine customized line had just finished processing rabbit-shaped milk candy, and then turned around to wrap mooncake-shaped chocolate. The switching process was smooth.
Heat sealing accuracy is directly related to the shelf life of candy. Some customers have reported that the sharp corners of special-shaped candy blocks easily puncture the packaging film, causing moisture adhesion. This time we deliberately strengthened the pressure adjustment function of the heat sealing knife and added a cold air shaping module. On the day of acceptance, the customer's quality inspector randomly checked hundreds of bags of candy, held a magnifying glass and searched for a long time, and finally said: "This sealing line is as uniform as if it was drawn by a machine!" Now in their e-commerce comment area, you can often see buyers posting pictures praising the tight packaging, "Even the violent express delivery did not break the bag."
Sanitary design is also emphasized by customers. The candy factory focuses on the high-end market, and the cleanliness of the workshop is benchmarked against the pharmaceutical production standard. We customized a fully enclosed stainless steel body for the candy packaging machine, and even the transmission gears were equipped with food-grade protective covers. When they passed the HACCP certification last month, the audit expert walked around the equipment several times, and finally pointed to the dust removal system and nodded: "There is no exposure from the feed inlet to the discharge outlet, and the dust control is better than some pharmaceutical companies."
Recently, this matter has spread in the circle, and several candy factories in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai have come to inquire about the packaging solution for special-shaped candies. The customer we received last week was even more interesting. He brought his own "Tangram puzzle-shaped candy" to test the machine. We temporarily added a graphic recognition library to the visual system and packaged a row of sugar bags that could spell out a castle pattern on the spot. The account director made a decision on the spot and signed the contract: "We want this kind of candy packaging machine customization service that can keep up with our imagination!"
Now when you walk into our assembly workshop, you can always see a few "different-looking" candy packaging machines. Some are equipped with special material trays for special-shaped candies, and some are equipped with decorative packaging heads with colorful film rolls. Zhang Gong, who is in charge of debugging, often says: "Creativity is the key to candy now, and our equipment must keep up with this sweet trend." I heard that the R&D department is recently working on 3D printing rapid mold change technology. Next time a customer brings a dinosaur-shaped lollipop, I guess we don't even need to open the mold, we can just adjust the data and open the package!
Looking at the customized candy packaging machine in the shipping area that is about to be shipped to Yunnan, I suddenly remembered the words in the thank-you letter sent by Mr. Wang last time: "The irregular candy in the eyes of others has become the art of packaging here." This is heartwarming, but our brothers in the workshop are more realistic - what art is not art, customization that can make customers money is a good design!
