15/08/2026
In the packaging industry, airplane box folding and forming is a critical step in post-packaging operations, widely used in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and 3C electronics packaging scenarios. Traditional folding solutions often use PTP (point-to-point) control, where bending actions start and stop abruptly, causing high impact, uneven creases, and low success rates. Additionally, switching between different box types requires reprogramming and debugging, which is time-consuming and demands high technical expertise, severely impacting production efficiency and market responsiveness.
The customer's original folding process used PTP control, with high impact and lengthy changeover times. The customer clearly requested an upgrade from PTP to a cam-based solution to increase production capacity while enabling workers to easily adjust parameters for different box types and achieve rapid production.
Lingchen Technology, with over 20 years of industrial automation expertise, has successfully delivered a complete solution for airplane box folding machines, centered on the Lingchen PLC + electronic cam, helping customers achieve breakthroughs in both efficiency and quality.
🌟Airplane Box Folding Process Flow
The airplane box (also known as courier box or postal box) gets its name from its shape resembling an airplane when unfolded. It is one of the most widely used box types in the packaging industry. The equipment is mainly used for folding and forming airplane boxes, consisting of two major parts: the loading section and the folding section.
①Loading Section
The paper box loading system uses a continuous feeding cycle process, divided into three workstations:
· Pick-up station: Suck paperboard from the magazine
· Shaking station: Separate stuck paperboards through shaking action; the system supports custom settings for shake cycle count via HMI to adapt to different paperboard hardness and adhesion levels
· Placement station: Place paperboard onto the folding station
Action logic interlock: After the single-box placement process is complete, the X-axis transfer mechanism must return to the pick-up origin before the system allows the folding process to start, ensuring interlocking between stations and eliminating interference risks.
Parallel front/rear processes: While the folding station performs folding actions, the front-end loading suction mechanism simultaneously completes the pre-grasping of the next paperboard and stands by. Once the current box folding is complete, the pre-grasped paperboard is immediately transferred to the folding station, achieving parallel processing without waiting and significantly improving overall continuous production efficiency.
②Folding & Forming Section
The airplane box folding process consists of multiple precise steps, performed in the following sequence:
· Small flap pre-folding: Front and rear small flaps are folded along preset crease lines to form a 90° vertical state with the front/rear main folds, completing small flap pre-positioning.
· Front/rear fold wrapping: Front and rear main folds are bent inward 90°, simultaneously enclosing the pre-folded small flaps inside the box body.
· Left/right folds and ears synchronous pre-folding: Left and right main folds are bent inward 90°, simultaneously driving the side ears to pre-fold to the preset angle.
· Ear locking bottom engagement: Both side ears are fully pressed and bent inward, engaging the ear snap structure with the corresponding slots on the box bottom, completing bottom locking and forming.
The entire folding process involves multiple actuators including left/right small flap shafts, front/rear fold shafts, left/right fold shafts, left/right pressing shafts, and left/right locking shafts. Each axis must coordinate according to specific timing and phase relationships, placing extremely high demands on the control system's synchronization accuracy and trajectory smoothness.
🌟Lingchen Technology Solution
Hardware Configuration
This solution uses the Lingchen PLC as the core controller, managing the folding servo and encoder via EtherCAT bus, while remaining compatible with the machine's existing peripherals. Lingchen GWS series cabinet IO modules offer high stability and convenient network cabling, suitable for distributed industrial control scenarios, significantly saving system integration time and cost. The Lingchen HMI enables parameter setting, cam curve monitoring, recipe management, and alarm display.
· Virtual Master Axis + Electronic Cam Synchronization
A virtual master axis is built inside the PLC, serving only as a motion reference for the folding mechanism without modifying other machine structures. An exclusive electronic cam curve is programmed according to the folding process, with bending and pressing axes following the virtual axis phase synchronously. With smooth motion algorithms, the entire acceleration/deceleration process is seamless, completely eliminating rigid impact.
· Zoned Motion Control
The controller only enables virtual axis, electronic cam, and multi-axis synchronization functions for the folding unit, while other mechanisms retain their original control logic. New and old programs coexist, reducing upgrade costs and risks. The EtherCAT bus architecture achieves zoned management, collaborative efficiency, and high-speed command/data interaction.
· Multi-Recipe Cam Curve Application
Multiple cam curves for different box types are pre-programmed and saved as recipes. Operators can switch with one touch via the touchscreen without reprogramming. Trajectory buffering optimizes key positions for direction changes and end bending, preventing speed spikes that could damage the box. The fixed preset cam trajectory ensures consistent forming standards across every batch.
· Closed-Loop Position Feedback Logic
Encoders collect actual folding axis positions in real time and compare them with the electronic cam theoretical positions, ensuring the axes follow the preset trajectory precisely. Long-term position stability and consistent folding accuracy are maintained.
The airplane box folding machine is a critical piece of post-packaging automation equipment in the packaging industry. Its control precision and operational efficiency directly determine packaging quality and production capacity. Traditional PTP control starts and stops abruptly, causing high impact, low precision, and difficult changeovers. Lingchen Technology, with the Lingchen PLC at its core, has successfully upgraded the airplane box folding process from PTP mode to electronic cam control through innovations such as virtual master axis + electronic cam synchronization, EtherCAT high-speed bus, one-touch recipe switching, and closed-loop position feedback. This comprehensively solves quality issues, eliminates action waiting time, enables one-touch changeover, and significantly improves machine uptime and production flexibility.
This solution's multi-dimensional value—quality leap, capacity breakthrough, cost optimization, and maintenance simplification—has been fully validated at customer sites. In the future, Lingchen Technology will continue to deepen its presence in industrial automation, focusing on packaging, 3C, semiconductor, new energy, and other industries, providing more comprehensive PLC products and motion control solutions to empower China's intelligent manufacturing transformation and upgrade, contributing to the high-quality development of China's manufacturing industry.