MANY food and beverage plants have automated their processes with a palletising robot. This trend will continue given the speed and flexibility that robotics offer, according to SA-based Hot Melt Packaging Systems (HMPS).
Specialising in the development and manufacture of quality, high-value machinery for the automation of carton packaging processes, HMPS has been working with Euroimpianti, an Italian producer of performance robotic palletising systems and laser guided vehicles.
One of Euroimpianti’s simple palletising robots, the Skilled ANT101, has a modular construction and can be adapted to any pre-existing product conveyor and packaging line. It is a fully automatic, compact line dedicated palletiser, which removes the need for conveying to a centralised palletising area and enables independence of production lines.
The Cartesian structured robot with four degrees of freedom, houses one or two palletising stations and one pick-up conveyor. Its pick-up station conveyor has sloping rollers in order to guide and centre the cases prior to pick and place palletising.
The adjustable pick-up gripper of mechanical or venturi vacuum style equipped with anti-collision safety device provides the most flexible and reliable pick and place operation available.
HMPS is the exclusive agent in Australia for Euroimpianti Skilled products, and its engineers work with the Italian company during set up and programming to ensure the most comprehensive knowledge of the system and control software.
HMPS can also install Euroimpianti Skilled Laser Guided Vehicle systems which completes the ‘end of line’ automation. The laser guiding system is similar to an “eye”.
Reflectors are positioned on the walls and a “triangle” reading method learns the exact position of the vehicle to carry out the appropriate operations necessary to move around the area.
The position of the vehicle is updated 20 times a second to ensure a high precision degree. A sophisticated filtering system intercepts any bad reflectors due to other sources (ie. windows or bright walls) and decides to exclude them for the calculation of the positions.
The security class 1 laser ray deployed is harmless to people and not visible with the naked eye. The advantages of a Skilled LGV include no floor-works required (cutting, magnetic tape, coloured tapes, etc.), and the change of path of the vehicles is extremely easy and is carried out via CAD system.
Robotics are not only used for palletising but are also used for de-palletising. One of the main producers of candies in Belgium purchased four palletising cells from Euroimpianti to automate its nine production lines. To solve its end-of line problems, two systems with robot Skilled 504 were integrated to de-palletise and palletise crates.
The robot Skilled 504 de-palletises pallets loaded with empty plastic crates by picking four crates up at a time with a special gripper, and then delivering them to a filling line. The crates filled with candies are then conveyed to the Skilled 504 to be palletised. The de-palletised empty pallets are recycled and delivered to the system via a transfer station from the de-palletising to the palletising station.
More than 1,500 of Euroimpianti’s robots have been successfully installed worldwide, in a variety of industry sectors including food processing, chemical, electrical, paper and tobacco.
For more information contact:
Hot Melt Packaging Systems
P – 08 8150 1000
W – www.hmps.com.au