INDUSTRY News


RMGroup’s mobile packaging system supports PELOT Slovenia


Robotics and automation company, RMGroup, has recently installed an innovative mobile packaging system at PELOT Slovenia, part of the PELOT Group, a supplier of sea and rock salt in Croatia, Slovenia and neighbouring countries. Following discussions with RMGroup, a mobile packaging system – the LTM 600 – was recommended as a solution to deliver large volumes of salt to PELOT’s customers in the shortest possible timeframe. Consisting of a trailer chassis, the solution combines manual placement of pre-made bags with an integrated ABB robot palletising system. Given its versatility, the model has also allowed PELOT Slovenia to switch between bag sizes with ease, so now it is able to pack various granules in bags from 10-25kg.


As standard, RMGroup installed an inlet hopper feed system, load-cell bag clamp, continuous heat sealer and bag- preparation conveyor. The robot palletising system includes pallet magazine and pallet accumulation. Filled pallets are ejected from the line through a controlled speed door onto gravity conveying. Also included is a compressor to deliver the correct air supply to the line, and a heating system to maintain an ambient temperature and warm environment for bagging.


“As original innovators of the mobile bagging system incorporating robotic palletising, we are delighted to supply our flagship products to PELOT Slovenia. The whole project ran smoothly throughout and we are confident that the mobile solution will prove to be a wise investment for the business going forward,” said Ed Pugh, RMGroup’s Sales Director.


RMGroup’s highly-trained mechanical, electrical and control system engineers now provide PELOT Slovenia with rapid support when needed, via RMGroup’s eWON system – an Internet-based, remote-access tool.


  


ABB COLUMN BUILDING A FUTURE WITH ROBOTS R


obots transform productivity and efficiency in many industries, opening new areas for fast, accurate and flexible handling of a wide variety of tasks. Yet,


one industry has remained largely resistant to change, despite being one of the world’s largest industrial sectors – the construction industry. This, however, is now set to change.


Rising urbanisation, trends towards mass customisation and the need for buildings to be more sustainable are challenging companies to change the way they operate, particularly when it comes to design, speed and quality. A growing labour shortage means that meeting these changes is going to become increasingly difficult. In a global survey of 1900 large and small construction businesses carried out by ABB, 91% said they face a skills crisis within 10 years, with 44% struggling to fill vacancies. In particular, perceptions that construction tasks are dirty and dangerous is deterring many young people from joining the industry. While these factors present a perfect storm for the construction industry, they also provide perfect conditions for robots, which can meet many of the problems currently faced by construction companies. Productivity can be improved by using robots to prefabricate parts of buildings or even complete structures in factories. Pioneering companies are already combining robotic and manual production to manufacture modules for everything from homes through to hotels and offices with the manufactured units being shipped to site for final assembly. Waste can also be significantly reduced. Robotic automation reduces waste by improving quality and consistency, which is significant when it is estimated that up to a quarter of material transported to a building site leaves as waste. With automation and digital solutions, builders can also design waste out at the beginning of a project through effective building design and construction processes. Robots can also make construction safer by handling large and heavy


loads, working in unsafe spaces and enabling new, safer methods of construction. Using robots for repetitive and dangerous tasks can help support the industry’s labour and skills crisis and make construction careers more appealing to young people. Other benefits include the ability to combine robots and 3D building design software to enable greater freedom in the structures that can be built, which can be further enhanced by methods including robotic 3D printing.


Nigel Platt, LBL Manager, UK and Ireland, ABB Robotics   


automationmagazine.co.uk


Automation | July/August 2021


7


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46