Pack for smoking products

A method for making a pack of smoking products comprising an ordered group of packets containing smoking products and positioned in contact with each other, wherein said group of packets has upper and lower opposed laterally extending surfaces and first and second opposed laterally extending side surfaces together forming a closed lateral surface around the group of packets, and around a laterally extending reference axis of the group of packets, which is positioned between the upper and lower opposed surfaces of the group of packets, each of the upper and lower surfaces is defined by a set of homologous surfaces of all packets of the group of packets, the method comprising:

• unwinding at least one adhesive tape from a reel and applying it to the closed lateral surface of the group of packets and completely around the group of packets, to hold the packets of the group of packets together solely by means of the at least one adhesive tape, wherein unwinding the at least one adhesive tape from the reel and applying it to the closed lateral surface of the group of packets and completely around the group of packets includes:
• causing the group of packets to advance in a direction of advance, in an arrangement in the laterally extending reference axis of the group of packets is orthogonal to the direction of advance;
• feeding the at least one adhesive tape in a direction of feed orthogonal to the direction of advance and to the laterally extending reference axis of the group of packets;
• positioning the at least one adhesive tape in front of the first laterally extending side surface of the closed lateral surface of the group of packets, with reference to the direction of advance of the group of packets, and in contact with a first and a second stop element spaced apart from each other along the direction of feed of the at least one adhesive tape, to define a passage for the group of packets;
• causing the group of packets to advance in the direction of advance against the at least one adhesive tape positioned in front of the group of packets, and through the passage defined by the first and second stop elements, in such a way that the at least one adhesive tape is folded into a U-shape against the first laterally extending side surface and the upper and lower opposed laterally extending surfaces of the closed lateral surface of the group of packets, as a result of relative movement between the group of packets and the first and the second stop elements;
• and
• folding tabs of the at least one adhesive tape projecting from the upper and lower laterally extending surfaces, respectively, of the group of packets, against the second laterally extending surface of the closed lateral surface of the group of packets, placing the tabs in mutual superimposition,
• wherein:
• feeding the at least one adhesive tape in the direction of feed includes causing the at least one adhesive tape to extend parallel to the direction of feed i) between the group of packets and the passage defined by the first and second stop elements, and ii) beyond said passage over a given length of adhesive tape, at least equal to a length of the upper or lower surfaces, of the closed lateral surface of the group of packets, and
• said method provides for retaining the given length of adhesive tape by means of a suction plate, the suction plate including a planar tape support surface extending above and below the opening and parallel to the direction of feed of the adhesive tape, the suction plate defining the stop elements, which define the passage.