News release | August 2026

ZRAY has introduced a new smart carton erector generation built around servo-driven mechanical flap folding. Unlike conventional machines that use pneumatic folding shoes — which are fast but imprecise and air-hungry — the new machine folds all four bottom flaps with independent servo axes, giving ±0.3 mm fold repeatability and cutting compressed air use at the folding station by roughly 60%.

Why Servo Folding Beats Pneumatic Folding

Pneumatic folding has been the industry default for decades because it is simple and cheap. But it has structural limits:

• Force is not precisely controlled. A pneumatic cylinder’s force varies with supply pressure (±10% is common on plant air), so a heavy double-wall blank may be under-folded while a thin E-flute blank gets crushed at the crease.
• No position feedback. The cylinder only knows “extended” or “retracted.” If the blank slips 2 mm, nobody knows until the case comes out mis-folded.
• Speed is a compromise. Air flow restricts how fast the cylinder can move, capping folding speed and, therefore, line throughput.

Servo-driven folding replaces all three limitations:

What’s Inside the New Machine

The smart carton erector combines servo folding with the full ZRAY control stack:

• Four independent servo axes for the bottom flaps (and optional top-flap pre-folding for the case packer).
• Torque-controlled folding: each flap folds to a programmed angle with a force profile that ramps gently onto the crease — protecting recycled board and lightweight flutes from crease damage.
• Recipe library of 50+ case profiles, each storing board grade, folding force, speed, and timing. Changeover between a 12-pack B-flute case and a heavy BC-flute case is a one-button operation.
• PLC-based quality feedback: a fold-angle sensor on the last flap verifies each case; a case outside the ±1° window is rejected before it reaches the packer, instead of jamming it.
• IoT-ready interface (Modbus TCP / Ethernet/IP) so the folding performance data flows into the plant’s analytics — see the Industry 4.0 & remote diagnostics update for the broader connectivity story.

Measured Benefits

In field trials at two plants — one beverage, one e-commerce — the servo folding station delivered:

• Fold repeatability improved from ±1.5 mm (pneumatic) to ±0.3 mm.
• Case squareness rejection rate cut from 1.8% to 0.3%.
• Folding station compressed air consumption down 58–62%.
• Mis-fold-related jams down 75% across the two trial sites.

Compatibility

The smart carton erector is a full machine built on the single-piece case erector platform. For plants that already run ZRAY machines, the servo folding head is available as a field retrofit for single-piece erectors installed since 2022, with a two-day installation by a ZRAY technician.

Availability

The smart carton erector with servo-driven flap folding is available for order now. Send us your board grades and case size range, and we will confirm the right servo configuration and provide a folding-force study for your specific blanks.

Request the servo folding study or message us on WhatsApp at +86 13681839278.