The new compact ESS (ess.com) Model V30M Robotic Tray Packer uses three FANUC robots with ESS-designed, custom end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) to erect and glue display trays, load and then cover them with an half-slotted container (HSC) cover that is taped to the tray. A servo collation table creates the required pack pattern as bottles enter at a rate of up to 200 bottles per minute. The first robot, a FANUC M-10iA/12, picks and places a tray blank in the forming device, which folds and glues the bottom of the tray. Pneumatic assemblies then fold and tuck the sides of the tray. A FANUC M-20iA robot with custom balloon-style EOAT picks the collated bottles and places them in the tray. A second FANUC M-10iA/12 robot will pick an HSC cover and place the cover. The tray conveys through a taping system that folds and tapes the top of the HSC cover and also tapes the cover to the bottom of the tray.
Allpax (allpax.com), a ProMach brand, has expanded the capabilities of robots for handling pouches, bowls and cartons in retort automation through integration with the company’s AllTrax basket tracking system. AllTrax lowers the risk of unsterilized or incorrectly sterilized product leaving the retort room. The robotic systems were improved with quick changeover and product carrier flexibility, enabling multiple container sizes to run on a single end-of-arm tool. The maintenance-free AllTrax system automatically alerts personnel when product does not follow the required path through the retort. Operators can access the status of every basket logged into the system via human machine interface (HMI). In cases where product status does not match the proper location; the operator is alarmed, the alarm is logged, and plant management is required to assess the situation. Password protection is used to prevent unauthorized overrides. Through AllTrax and other software tools, operations possess a date and time-stamped electronic record of every basket’s/product’s journey through sterilization.