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tech.com
December, 2016
Simplimatic Automation Develops Innovative Packaging Line
By Bernie Moltchan, Sales Manager — Beverage, Simplimatic Automation
Forest, VA — Simplimatic Automation has devel- oped a line for a multi-million dollar beverage com- pany that includes the control and coordination necessary for a high-speed, automatic canning process. While planning, the team ran across a sig- nificant challenge: Due to a new configuration of the packaging line, a long, curving section of con- veyor had to be moved and shoehorned into a short area between two critical stations on the line. The new section, now straightened and only 6 ft (1.8m) long, would carry one, two or three lanes of packs to a shrink film bundler/track packer. Other requirements for the reconfigured line
included: automatic changeover to maintain the integrity of the packs as they enter the shrink film bundler, the accommodation of multiple lane widths, precise and repeatable operation, high- throughput over a long lifespan, corrosion resist- ance,
food-safe lubricants, and control by
Ethernet-based communications. Line Overview A conveyor system unifies the new line.
Empty cans are de-palletized and enter the line, filled cans are bundled and shrink-wrapped, and trays of packs are routed to a palletizer. On aver- age, 1,450 beverage cans are filled and seamed per minute. Filled cans are fed into a pack cartoner that produces 4-, 6-, 8-, 10, and 12-packs of 12 and 16 oz cans, depending on the run. The line accom- modates more than 100 SKUs. After cartoning, packs are divided into lanes by an active roller wheel conveyor before being fed into the bundler. One of the highlights of the line is that it pro-
duces a wide range of bundle and tray pack pat- terns to accommodate retailer preferences.
Conveyor system with pneumatic product lane dividers.
machines to be used at the end of line, the new 6 ft (1.8m) section of conveyor had to be sandwiched in between the lane switch device and the tray pack- er. The design team needed to develop a lane divider solution that would ensure that packs entering that section — at a maximum of 62 packs per minute — maintained precise orientation with-
Different combinations of packs and lanes add to the diversity of pack patterns available. Due to topological considerations and choices made late in the project regarding the types of
in their designated lanes. Not only were one, two or three lanes required for various tray patterns, but also those lanes needed different widths, depending on the packs.
Pneumatic Actuation The most elegant design turned out to be low-
ering metal plate dividers between the lanes. The divider design had the advantage of being a sim- ple, low-cost solution that would maintain lane separation. Lowering the middle divider, for exam- ple, maintains a two lane infeed. Lowering the outer plates, while the middle remained up, main- tains three lanes. Having all the plates raised allows for one lane operation. Guide bars on the sides of the conveyor
extend or retract to maintain proper width of the lanes. Working with Festo, one of the Simpli - matic’s suppliers, the design team ran cost benefit and performance analyses on whether electric or pneumatic actuators would be the optimum choice for lowering and raising the dividers and extend- ing and retracting the width guides. These applications require relatively few
movements per day. In terms of long service life, low cost, and high reliability in this application, pneu- matic actuation was the most cost-effective choice. For the raising and lowering lane-maintaining actu- ators, a Festo design engineer suggested double rod actuators with a 100 mm (3.9 in.) stroke. “Double rod actuators provide exceptional
rigidity,” says Mark Eanes, sales engineer at Festo. “The assured rigidity is an asset in main- taining the specified orientation of the dividers over their service life.”
Continued on next page
Manufactured in the U.S.A. since 1966
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1551 S. Harris Court Anaheim, CA 92806 Tel 714·978·1551
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