SMH Folding Machine Maintenance Tips Extend Equipment Life and Ensure Efficiency Release

DAuthor: SMH Engineering Team

I. Importance of Maintenance for buckle folding machine

Folding machines are essential in the printing and packaging industries, directly impacting customer satisfaction and production costs. Neglecting maintenance can result in: – Significant downtime and delayed order delivery; – Inaccurate folding leading to product waste; – Increased long-term costs from wear on spare parts and labor. Regular maintenance enhances machine lifespan and performance.

II. Monthly Inspection and Cleaning Plan 🧹

1. Power Off for Safety

Always disconnect power before cleaning to prevent electric shock or injury.

2. Remove Dust and Debris

Take out the folding roller, rubber roller, and baffle; clean with a soft cloth or brush to avoid jams caused by dust accumulation.

3. Clean Drum and Separation Wheel

Use mild soapy water (for rubber rollers) to remove ink/oil stains; disassemble for thorough cleaning if possible.

4. Properly Cover When Idle

When not in use for extended periods, cover the machine with a dust cover to keep debris out of the drum area.

III. Quarterly Lubrication and Regulation

1. Lubricate Moving Parts

Apply specified lubricating oil to bearings, gears, and cylinders as per the manual to minimize wear.

2. Inspect Key Components

Check folding plate gaps, belt stability, PLC faults, etc., ensuring precise operation without errors.

3. Drum replacement cycle:

If cracks are found or the surface becomes smooth and loses friction, the belt, rubber drums and brake pads and other consumable parts should be replaced in a timely manner.

IV. Optimization Suggestions for the Operation of Lightweight Paper Materials

Buckle folding machine For folding thin materials (such as 40-60gsm), please pay attention to the following key adjustments:
1. Reduce the folding gap and folding space to improve control over thin materials;
2. Maintain an appropriate moisture content of the paper to prevent misalignment and insufficient support during folding;
3. Ensure the folding direction is in line with the grain direction of the paper to enhance stability;
4. Slow down the operation to reduce the chances of uneven or wrinkled folding of thin paper.

V. Semi-annual and Annual Deep Maintenance for insert folder machine.

Semi-annual:
• Conduct a comprehensive inspection of PLCs, sensors, wiring, and pneumatic components to ensure there are no faults;
• Check the temperature and pressure of the control system and improve the operating environment.

Annual maintenance:
• Complete disassembly and cleaning to thoroughly remove dust and deposits;
• Replace all wear parts (accessories, lubricating oil, belts, etc.);
• Calibrate folding accuracy and production speed to ensure parameters still meet factory standards;
• Take a set of equipment photos and update them on the official website to demonstrate maintenance norms and for future diagnosis.

VI. Operation Training and Maintenance Records 📋
• Regularly organize training sessions for operators every 3 to 6 months, covering cleaning, lubrication, replacement, and fault diagnosis;
• It is recommended to implement a maintenance log (either paper-based or digital) to record the details of each maintenance, which can be used to determine the parts replacement cycle and the trend of folding stability.

Summary
• Monthly cleaning (power off + thorough dust removal)
• Quarterly lubrication and adjustment (key parts inspection and replacement of consumables)
• Special settings for thin paper (anti-wrinkle, anti-deviation)
• Semi-annual/annual deep maintenance (disassembly, calibration, component replacement)
• Operation training and maintenance log (record cycle, quality fluctuation)

Strictly following these steps for systematic maintenance of the SMH folding machine & buckle folding machine can not only enhance production capacity and folding quality, but also extend the service life of the equipment, reduce malfunctions and lower maintenance costs. We recommend pairing it with the annual new product release and factory inspection photo album in the future. Feel free to contact us at any time for optimization support!

Ten typical application cases demonstrate the Combined Buckle and Knife Folding Machine’s versatility in folding cancer drug instructions across various drugs, packaging forms, and production requirements.

1. Targeted therapy tablet instructions (small size)
   Background: A3-sized instruction manual needs to be folded to 30×30mm for a small bottle box.
   Challenge: Multiple folds in limited space risk wrinkling or misalignment.
   Solution: Triple fold + double knife fold with automatic stacking ensures clear creases and alignment.
   Result: Yield increased to 99.5%, re-inspection reduced by 80%.
2. Anti-cancer injection drug instructions
   Background: Instructions must integrate into the cartoning system with bottles.
   Challenge: Electrostatic adsorption and paper misalignment affect feeding accuracy.
   Solution: The machine connects with the cartoning line and includes anti-static and misalignment correction features.
   Result: Stable 24-hour operation achieved.
3. Multilingual export drug instructions (high information volume)
   Background: Six-language manuals require clear hierarchy after folding.
   Challenge: Risk of text overlap and congestion.
   Solution: Use cross + Z fold + half fold combination with layered layout optimization.
   Result: Easy unfolding and clear readability maintained.
4. Quick-acting injectable drug instructions (high-speed line)
   Background: Must match high-speed filling lines.
   Challenge: Folding speed must exceed 180 meters per minute without errors.
   Solution: High-speed unit with dual-channel feeding meets production rhythm.
   Result: Stable synchronization with production line ensured.
5. Oral anti-cancer powder instructions (thin paper)
   Background: 45g lightweight paper prone to curling and cracking.
   Challenge: Folding causes fraying and surface fuzz.
   Solution: Pressure-reducing roller + low-tension feeding control.
   Result: Smooth, flat edges meet appearance inspection standards.
6. Embedded instruction folding for enclosed medicine box
   Background: Instruction must fit precisely into a reserved interlayer.
   Challenge: Folding error must not exceed ±0.2mm.
   Solution: Full servo positioning + CCD vision detection ensure precision.
   Result: Millimeter-level accuracy; no secondary processing needed.
7. Asymmetric folding for irregular packaging
   Background: Packaging requires “top-heavy” folding method.
   Challenge: Standard symmetrical folding fails to meet structural needs.
   Solution: Programmable asymmetric folding paths are preset.
   Result: Perfectly fits packaging without design changes.
8. Folding optimization for adhesion issues
   Background: Small folded products tend to stick together.
   Challenge: Humidity increases static electricity and output stuttering.
   Solution: Ion air + compressed air separation prevents sticking.
   Result: Smooth continuous output with 100% sheet separation.
9. Instruction folding for plastic bag insertion
   Background: Folded instructions must go into individual plastic bags.
   Challenge: Bulging or skewing hinders bagging.
   Solution: Knife folding compaction + leveling module ensure flatness.
   Result: Flat output doubles bagging efficiency.
10. UV-sensitive anticancer drug instructions
    Background: Special ink prohibits UV exposure during printing.
    Challenge: Traditional equipment may expose instructions to UV light.
    Solution: Equipment uses UV-free and heat-free detection light sources.
    Result: Safe handling of UV-sensitive materials ensured.

The professional application of Combined Buckle and Knife Folding Machine in the folding of cancer drug instructions.

In today’s pharmaceutical industry, particularly in the field of oncology, drug instructions play a vital role in conveying essential information such as pharmacological data, medication guidance, side effect warnings, clinical trial results, and regulatory approvals. As cancer treatment methods continue to evolve—with the widespread use of advanced therapies like targeted drugs and immunotherapy—the complexity and volume of instruction content have significantly increased. These instructions often feature dense layouts, small fonts, and extensive details, making them challenging to handle. Typically, large sheets of paper must be folded into compact formats that fit neatly into medicine packaging. To ensure both readability and completeness, the folding process demands highly sophisticated equipment—capable of high precision, speed, adaptability to complex folding patterns, and the ability to prevent issues such as paper damage, misalignment, or rebound during operation.

The Combined Buckle and Knife Folding Machine is specifically designed to meet these demanding production requirements. By integrating two distinct folding techniques—traditional buckle folding and knife folding—it combines their respective strengths to deliver superior performance. This machine supports various folding styles, including parallel folding, cross folding, Z-folding, and core folding, making it especially suitable for applications requiring high folding accuracy and compact output, such as anti-cancer drug instructions.

Part I. Process Advantages

Enhanced flexibility and stability through combined folding structure
The buckle folding unit excels at performing continuous, high-speed parallel folds, while the knife folding unit specializes in precise angle control for operations like double folding and cross folding. By intelligently combining these two technologies, the machine can efficiently complete folding tasks for 8-page, 16-page, 32-page, or even 64-page documents. It enables the transformation of A3 or A2-sized instruction sheets into matchbox-like dimensions, meeting the need for compact yet comprehensive drug manuals.

Supports ultra-compact output ideal for small medicine packaging
Given the high cost, precise dosage, and strict storage conditions of cancer medications, their packaging is typically small and space-efficient. The final size of the instruction manual often needs to be less than 40mm × 30mm. This machine ensures accurate and delicate folding without damaging the paper, effectively addressing the challenge of “folding small into smaller”—a limitation of traditional folding machines.

Anti-static and dust-free design compliant with GMP standards
Cleanliness and static control are critical in pharmaceutical production environments, especially those handling anti-cancer drugs. This equipment features anti-static feeding components, a sealed dust-proof structure, and easy-to-clean rollers and blades, ensuring compliance with GMP cleanroom standards and minimizing the risk of contamination.

Part II. Typical Application Examples

Application One: Folding instructions for oral targeted therapy drugs
An international pharmaceutical company produces an oral targeted anti-cancer drug tablet measuring just 3×3 cm per pill. Its accompanying instruction manual contains 20 pages of multilingual (eight languages) information. Traditional folding machines often result in issues such as misaligned pages, blurred text, or oversized folds that don’t fit into the packaging. With this advanced machine, vertical segmentation is first achieved through three rounds of high-speed buckle folding, followed by precise horizontal folding using the dual-knife system. The resulting fold is neat, with sharp creases and aligned corners, fitting perfectly at the bottom of the bottle without requiring manual trimming—greatly improving production efficiency and yield.

Application Two: Integrated folding for injectable anti-cancer drug instructions
Injectable anti-cancer drugs are commonly available as powders or liquids, and their instructions must be automatically inserted into the packaging box along with the product. This requires high-speed, continuous production line integration. The machine seamlessly connects with automatic cartoning systems and includes an intelligent stacking module and anti-jamming feeding mechanism. This ensures that finished instruction booklets do not stick together, curl, or rebound, maintaining packaging consistency and visual appeal.

Part Iii. Highlights of Equipment Performance

High-speed output capacity: Up to a linear speed of 200 meters per minute or a folding capacity of 12,000 pages per minute, suitable for the rhythm of batch pharmaceutical production.

High-precision alignment system: It adopts a servo positioning and deviation correction system, with the folding deviation controlled within ±0.3mm.

Compatible with various paper materials: Whether it is light-coated paper, coated paper or 45g ultra-thin paper that is prone to wrinkling, it can operate stably without paper jams.

Modular structure design: The button-folding unit, knife-folding unit, automatic paper collection module, etc. can be freely combined and upgraded according to requirements.

Intelligent human-machine interface: Touch screen operation, featuring folding preset, job storage, automatic fault detection and remote maintenance functions.

Part Iv. Practical Value to Pharmaceutical Enterprises

Significantly improve production efficiency
The automated combination folding reduces manual operation and errors, ADAPTS to a 24-hour uninterrupted production mode, and increases production capacity by more than 30%.

Enhance the professionalism of packaging and brand image
Neatly folded, undamaged printed and precisely folded instruction manuals not only reflect the rigorous image of pharmaceutical enterprises, but also enhance the reading experience and trust of patients.

Save operating costs
By reducing the rework rate, lowering paper waste and minimizing manual intervention, the equipment can recoup its investment within 3 to 6 months.

Summary

In the SMH Folding application of cancer drug instructions, the Combined Buckle and Knife Folding Machine not only solves the industry problem of folding with high information volume and small volume, but also, with its high flexibility and precise control ability, It has provided reliable support for pharmaceutical enterprises in aspects such as information transmission, production compliance, and efficiency improvement. In the future, as regulations become stricter and the emphasis on user experience increases, devices with intelligent and combinable folding capabilities will become an important trend in the automated production of pharmaceutical packaging.