Feature Robotics & Motion Control
One palletiser does the work of three at Unilever plant
Unilever Bestfoods plant in Norwich is experiencing huge cost savings following the implementation of a robotic palletiser system from Linkx Systems that does the work of three conventional palletisers
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n addition to the new robotic pal- letiser system, that was imple- mented in conjunction with Alpha Chase Engineering, a spe- cialist supplier of conveying systems, Linkx Systems utilised its engineer- ing expertise and used an existing robot that Unilever no longer needed for its original application, thus making further savings.
When it was approached by Unilever Bestfoods to provide auto- matic palletising for random packs of cook-in sauces from three adjacent production lines, Linkx Systems analysed the application require- ments, and devised a compact, robot- based solution. It deploys an industrial robot that picks up packs in random sequence from any of three production lines, and accu- rately places each pack on the appro- priate pallet. The robot’s flexibility also enables it to easily cope with the variety of pack sizes and pallet pat- terns required. The robot also posi- tions the empty pallets and places inter-layer pads.
This solution was made all the more
Right: a palletiser from Linkx Systems is doing the work of three at Unilever Bestfoods
Linkx Systems developed, designed and constructed the pal- letiser system, while Alpha Chase Engineering supplied the pallet han- dling conveyors and the pallet de- nester. Linkx also developed and supplied the overall control system for the installation, which is based on a Siemens programmable controller.
Excellent results
attractive as Unilever already had a redundant robot which Linkx Systems was able to use for the project having developed a customised gripper for handling the packs of sauces.
Commenting on the palletiser’s instal- lation and performance, Jon Skinner of Unilever Bestfoods, said, “The instal- lation and commissioning of the robot palletiser went very smoothly, and it is now fully operational. It is proving to be very efficient and reliable and is providing us with cost savings at least as large as those we anticipated. In addition, it produces pallets with com- pletely consistent product stacking, which makes them much easier to handle in our automated warehouse. “Linkx Systems and Alpha Chase Engineering both did an excellent job on this project, and we were particu- larly pleased that Linkx was able to re- use our second hand robot as this, of course, substantially reduced the over- all cost of our new palletiser.”
Linkx Systems
www.linkxpackaging.com T: 01502 713 777
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ANUC has introduced the latest version of its LRMate 200 robot. The offering is well suited for integration into special purpose machinery and is now more compact, faster, has increased payload and a larger work envelope. Weighing in at an overall 25kg, the new LRMate is 2kg less than its predecessor and, combined with a reduction in arm width of 15mm, the com- pact unit provides a cost effective handling or transfer solution for machine and system builders. The six axes LRMate 200iD has an increased pay-
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load, up from 5kg to 7kg, with an uprated wrist assembly making longer tool offsets possible. Increased joint speeds on every axes of up to 25%, together with wrist moment and wrist inertia improve- ments, have resulted in the LRMate 200iD being able to perform the industry standard bench test (25mm by 300mm by 25mm) with 1kg payload 35% faster at .32 seconds or 187.5 cycles per minute.
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Slimming down and speeding up machine building solutions Installation and access with the new arm is
improved by the slim design and increased work envelope - reach is increased both horizontally and vertically. Its lower weight and ceiling, wall or floor mounting options allow integrators to design machines with ease of access to reduce lost pro- duction time when re-tooling or carrying out main- tenance procedures.
Integrated signal cable and pneumatics are enclosed within the robot arm, from base to forearm mounted connectors, helping to prevent snagging in confined cells and speed up programming. In addition to air, input/output connections and three double acting solenoid valves, the LRMate is now equipped with integrated sensor, Ethernet and auxil- iary axis cables.
The FANUC LR Mate 200iD is controlled by the
new energy saving R-30iB controller, FANUC’s lat- est generation of intelligent controller. Including a
MAY 2013 Automation
variety of smart features the R-30iB is compact and, when used in multi-robot systems, can be stacked to save valuable space. Features include real time interactive iPendant Touch, Learning Vibration Control (LVC) for path optimisation, and auto-motor braking for power saving. FANUC
www.fanucrobotics.co.uk T: 0247 663 9669
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