The beginning of the work process is that the box is fed to the labeling machine at a constant speed on the conveyor belt. The mechanical fixing device separates the boxes from each other at a fixed distance and pushes the box forward in the direction of the conveyor. The mechanical system of the labeling machine includes a driving wheel, a labeling wheel, and a reel. The driving wheel intermittently drags the label tape and the label tape is pulled out from the reel. At the same time, the labeling wheel is pressed onto the box after the labeling wheel has passed. An open-loop displacement control is used on the reel to keep the tension of the label tape because the labels are tightly connected to each other on the label tape, so the label tape must be continuously started and stopped.
The label is affixed to the box when the labeling wheel and the box move at the same speed. When the conveyor belt arrives at a specific position, the label belt drive wheel accelerates to match the speed of the conveyor belt, and after labeling, it decelerates to stop.
Since the label may slide, it has a registration mark on it to ensure that each label is correctly placed. The registration mark is read by a sensor, and during the tape deceleration phase, the drive wheel readjusts the position to correct any positional error on the label tape.