FEATURE Robotics
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Sun Chemical automates its ink production thanks to Kawasaki robots
S
un Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is a leading producer of printing inks, coatings and supplies, pigments, polymers, liquid compounds, solid compounds and application materials. Together with DIC, Sun Chemical has annual sales above $7.5bn and over 20,000 employees supporting customers around the world. At its production site in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Sun Chemical manufactures printing inks for direct delivery of products to customers in Europe and the rest of the world. In 2019, Sun Chemical implemented a new robotic application in Frankfurt to support its continued growth. Becker Sonder-Maschinenbau and Kawasaki Robotics were selected for the task.
Sun Chemical’s ink production Production at Sun Chemical Frankfurt is usually run in two shifts and can be run through the new robot cell without interruption. However, three shifts are also possible at any time if needed and are used regularly depending on the required production volume. The finished ink is filled into 3kg buckets, sealed and automatically labelled. A Kawasaki RD080N robot is equipped with a specially-designed vacuum gripper and transports the closed, labelled buckets to a waiting pallet. With a maximum payload of 80kg and a reach of 2,100mm, the RD080N is designed specifically for palletising applications. With industry-leading work range and reliability, the high-
16 July/August 2022 | Automation
speed palletising robot helps companies improve production line efficiency. As soon as the pallet is completely loaded, it is removed by an employee via a roller conveyor for film wrapping and further loading, and replaced by an empty pallet. The robot can resume operation immediately after the change. The system and the robot are
currently running at 50-80% capacity of their maximum, which means they can be adapted to increasing requirements. The system forms the end of the
production process and can quickly become the bottleneck of production. Since it has been commissioned, the production capacity has been consistently higher.
Relief for the employees 1. The vacuum gripper reliably picks up the paint buckets. In addition to increasing production capacity and long-term cost savings, the focus was also on relieving the ergonomic strain on employees. The handling of the paint buckets, the pallets as well as the regular readjustment were challenging for the employees in the long term – especially for older team members or those with physical complaints.
2. Easy access for the removal and feeding of pallets.
Despite initial scepticism, the system and the robot were quickly accepted and appreciated by all employees, says Manuel Krause: “The solution must be robust and reliable – then it will be accepted. And, if it is not too complex
and makes the daily work of our colleagues easier, even more so”.
Robot cells in development The next step in the automation of Sun Chemical’s Frankfurt production is already planned, consisting of a similarly-designed robotic cell for palletising the paint buckets, but with two parallel feeders. At present, a manual feeder is used at the point of production, but this will be automated, together with a second one in the future. The new double-deck palletiser – an innovation at Sun Chemical – will reduce downtime to a minimum. If the employee removing the finished pallet is on a break or otherwise not present, the system will stop until the pallet is removed.
“This can take up to 30-40 minutes in individual cases – valuable time in production and filling. With the new system, the robot can continue packing even when the pallet is full and the system can continue to run around the clock,” says Krause. A centrally-positioned Kawasaki robot takes over the palletising. The new system will also have directly integrated labelling and will also handle larger containers and other coloured products. This would also significantly reduce the workload of employees. Becker Sonder-Maschinenbau is currently implementing the design and tests.
CONTACT:
Kawasaki Robotics (UK)
https://kawasakirobotics.de/en/ 01925 713000
automationmagazine.co.uk
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