18 ANALYTICAL AND LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
Syringe handling solution with a small footprint
A new syringe handling concept offers a processing rate of up to 600 syringes per minute.
Un nouveau concept de manipulation de la seringue dispose d’une capacité de traitement pouvant atteindre jusqu’à 600 seringues par minute.
Ein neues Handhabungskonzept für Spritzen bietet eine Verarbeitungsrate von bis zu 600 Spritzen pro Minute.
A
Fig. 1. (Below) The new solution offers a high processing rate of up to 600 syringes per minute.
new handling solution for supplying pre-filled syringes to an end-of- line packing system has been developed by Mitsubishi Electric Europe and Swiss robotics specialist Robotronic.
Te concept takes up very little space, yet offers a high processing rate of up to 600 syringes per minute and the option of
switching quickly and easily between various syringe and carrier formats.
Te solution presented at the components show, supplies disposable syringes quickly and flexibly to the packing process via a rail system. It consists of two modular robot cells developed by Robotronic, so-called MRTs (Modular Robot Technology).
In one cell, two precisely coordinated Mitsubishi Electric MELFA robots of the RV-4FL series assume responsibility for handling all tubs and syringe carriers as well as the various syringe formats from 0.5 to 10 millilitres.
To do this they have a suitable conversion option. Te second cell contains a rotating magazine turret, which conveys up to 20 tubs filled with the syringe carriers into the system.
Measuring just 1 x 1.30 metres, the MRT basic module occupies a space slightly smaller than a europallet and is 2.20 metres high.
Mike Weber, the owner and managing director of Robotronic AG, says: “Similar handling machines have been on the market for a long time. What makes our MRTs unique is their compact design. A comparable machine from another manufacturer takes up roughly three to four times as much space – and space is usually in short supply in production systems.”
Te concept comprises a complete set of components, which can be assembled specifically to suit the requirements. As the exclusive robotics distribution partner of
www.scientistlive.com
Mitsubishi Electric for the Swiss market, Robotronic uses only Mitsubishi Electric Robots.
Te two compact overhead articulated-arm robots can perform both re-nesting and de-nesting tasks and process 400 syringes per minute in the sample application.
Te output of the cells can be increased to 600 syringes per minute by integrating an additional axis. Te rotating turret, which is driven by a Mitsubishi Electric MR-J4 servomotor, is used to reload the MRT while the process is ongoing, thereby reducing idle time to a minimum. To achieve the same level of autonomy with a conveyor belt, the belt would have to be four metres long.
Robotronic has also developed a made-to-measure overall concept for the supply and packing of vials of different sizes, which likewise incorporates two Mitsubishi Electric MELFA robots in the RV-4FL series along with a total of twelve type MR-J4 servo drives all operated by the Mitsubishi Electric iQ Platform. Te unit comprises two MRT cells, each with a 6-axis robot, and can be expanded to virtually any extent.
A conveyor system with eight servo-driven positioning screws supplies the vials to the robots, which are responsible for handling. Tese use vacuum grippers to remove two rows of vials containing five vials each from the conveyor and put them into waiting packing units.
For more information, visit
www.robotronic.ch or
www.mitsubishielectric.com
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