Clariant Produkte, Germany, has six production facilities at Gersthofen Industrial Park in the rural Bavarian district of Augsburg. In the additives sector, the chemical company manufactures and processes natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic waxes. To enable these to be stacked in bags on pallets particularly gently and quickly, as well as with high quality and accuracy, Clariant is now placing its trust in the Beumer robotpac articulated arm robot.
The author: Peter Schmidt Sales Manager, Beumer Group
Waxes ensure that plastics, for example, are easier to process and printing inks adhere better. They are also used in the manufacture of shoe creams, automobile polishes and floor care products. Clariant makes a wide range of wax additives in Gersthofen. They are based on both fossil (montan) waxes and synthetic prod-ucts. “We manufacture waxes in the form of powder, granules and flakes”, reports Dr. Norbert Pechler, Plant Manager PE Wax at Clariant. In the past, packaging was mainly carried out manually. As the products emerged from manufacturing, they were put into bags by staff. Filling was done using non-automated scales and the bags were then stacked on pallets by hand. “However, this was very time-consuming. To become more effective, we needed to automate both the filling and the palletising process”, says Pechler.
The Plant Manager and some of his colleagues contacted Beumer at the Interpack packaging trade fair in Dusseldorf. “We were able to see the robotpac articulated arm robot fitted with a special gripper tool in action at the exhibition stand”, Pechler recalls. “What’s more, Beumer has already successfully implemented several projects in the chemical industry.”
One important criterion for Clariant was the space requirement. “We wanted a compact so-lution. In particular, the decisive factor for us was the height of the palletising equipment”, Pechler remarks. Following an invitation to tender, the chemical company finally opted for the robotpac. This articulated arm robot stacks bags gently and with high reliability, accuracy and quality. Thanks to its impressive flexibility, the robotpac can also handle very complex processes with varying basic parameters accurately and efficiently.
This also convinced the chemical experts: “With robotpac we can process the three different forms – powder, granules and flakes – in parallel. That isn’t possible with a layer palletiser”, says Pechler. The palletising robot has a multi-programme for all packing patterns. A press of a button is all that is required to switch the robotpac over for changes of size or material. The robot system is simultaneously very robust. This ensures reliable operation even under extreme conditions. The drives work dependably, economically and quietly. If the palletising robot is equipped with an additional drive axis and a motor incorporated into the control system, it can even be traversed freely on a rail.
Gently gripped, efficiently palletised
Beumer has developed various load-carrying modules to enable different packaged goods to be handled individually and efficiently, depending on the application. Fork, suction and parallel grippers are just a few examples. They can be exchanged flexibly and at any time. At Clariant a finger gripper is used to handle bags as gently as possible and set them down accurately. This is particularly appropriate for palletising bagged goods.
The bagged waxes are passed to the palletising equipment in different formats via three roller conveyors. “A scanner uses a label attached to each bag to detect which one should be placed on which pallet”, Pechler explains. The robotpac moves to the pick-up position quietly and with maximum acceleration until shortly before it arrives. The finger gripper picks up the bags from a lift unit on the take-off roller conveyor and carries them to their destination. The fingers then open while the slide plates remain in the closed position. This ensures that the bags are laterally guided as they are set down. The finger gripper is a high-performance tool that is designed for maximum palletising capacities. It is a prerequisite of these high capacities and the associated acceleration speeds that the bags retain their shape and the contents do not have a tendency to flow. The forks are positioned underneath the bag, which is secured by a pressure device for transport. The robot approaches the pallet with a vertical movement. “We guarantee to set the bags down very accurately because only a vertical movement is necessary”, Schmidt explains. The forks open and the bag is pushed off by the stripper. The gripper system leaves the pallet vertically and approaches the roller conveyor with maximum acceleration. The cycle then starts again from the beginning. Empty pallets can be removed from the magazine with the same tool, obviating the need for a pallet separator. An ultrasonic system measures the stack height precisely. This enables the set-down position of the packaged product to be calculated exactly and the product deposited accurately and carefully. An optimum stacking pattern is assured – a sign not only of quality but also of high stability during transportation and storage.
Hall 4, Booth 325
cpp-net.com/0313445
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