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MOTOMAN ROBOTICS (UK) LTD |
Press Release
EFFICIENT ROBOTIC PACKING SPEEDS SOFT DRINKS MANUFACTURE continued
The palletising robot on the same line operates equally well. Again, vacuum-suction is used to grip the cartons which are palletised two at a time. Once a pallet load is completed, the pallet is moved away from the load area on a powered roller conveyor. The robot then picks an empty pallet from an integrated pallet stacker using hook-type lifters built into the box handling attachment. The new pallet is placed onto the load area.
Alongside this installation is the palletising cell for the Tetrapak line. This is the most complicated of the three Motoman-supplied systems as the robot needs to service up to three process lines simultaneously. It does this using an ingenious marshalling system which is operated by the incoming trays, each of which has a product-specific bar code.
Once the code is read by an integral reader, an electro mechanical path selection system directs the tray onto a designated pick-up conveyor. As soon as there are three trays on an infeed conveyor, an optical switch calls up the robot which lifts the trays, placing two in their designated position and leaving the third in a convenient pick-up position.
When it next visits the same pallet, the robot again places two trays and makes up a third pair with the previously-deposited tray, placing that pair also. Programming the movements in this way offers the most efficient pallet stacking routine and appears strangely human-like. As with the pallet stacking robot on the cup line, pallet replacement is incorporated into the cell.
Mr Edwards related, “When the robot cells initially arrived on the shop floor I found it difficult to see how we were going to benefit. However, once I had completed the Motoman training course and began to gain some programming experience as we developed the application, it began to make a lot of sense. It is actually quite easy to teach the robot what to do and it is also very satisfying.”
Mr Ball continued, "Although we had defined the practical aims and objectives quite well at the outset, commissioning the system on site revealed that there are a lot of things that the human does subconsciously that have to be taught to a machine.
Also, on the Tetra stacking line which uses frictional grippers to lift the trays, the specification of the packing film that holds the tray together significantly affects the robot's ability to lift and place the trays because of variations in friction."
Mr Edwards added, “Throughout the commissioning phase we had very good technical support from Motoman. Equally the level of adjustment available on the robots themselves allowed us to address issues like gripping pressure with confidence. Many of the difficulties that we experienced were attributable to external factors such as positioning and these were solved by our having to tighten up the way in which we presented product to the robots.”
The end result is a highly workable system that has generated the benefits expected by Calypso at the start of the project. Mr Ball concluded, “We brought a high level of commitment to making this system work – as did Motoman – and that has been instrumental in achieving a satisfactory result. The key lesson that we have learnt is that if we provide the robot with consistent quality in terms of the way its work is presented, then it will perform extremely well.
“We now have a system in which people have complete confidence and which is fully accepted by the workforce. It has also allowed us to redeploy a number of people to tasks where they add value to the end product.”
For More Information Contact:
Motoman Robotics (UK) Ltd
Johnson Park, Wildmere Road, Banbury, Oxon OX16 3JU
Tel: 01295 272755
FAX: 01295 267127
E-mail:
information@motoman.co.uk