IDM ¦ Packaging
Cheese wedges are not
aligned upstream of the
packer
The entire project was carried out by A+F
on a turnkey basis, including the operator
training. Besides the Flexline, the order
included the mechanical and control-side
connection to the cheese cutter, the thermoforming
line as well as the remaining manual
removal that forms the actual interface.
“It had to be implemented in such a way
that we could continue using manual removal
for the remaining third of our cheese
wedges. Operation can therefore take place
via manual removal or the machine. Everything
is functioning very well,” Katharina
Rossow sums up.
The plant components were delivered
as planned on 02.02.21. Just one week
later the first cheese wedges were passing
through the plant. These are conveyed from
the remaining manual workstation to the
Flexpicker by a product conveyor. Instead
of being aligned they are left arranged in a
rather “chaotic state”. At the infeed a barcode
recognition system checks the cheese
wedge from below for the correct product
allocation. In addition, the cheese wedges
are scanned for any intermediate top film
roll changes from the upstream thermoforming
line. Cheeses with an incorrect
barcode or a detected top film change are
discharged.
3-D inspector detects shape,
position and orientation
After the inspections the cheese wedges are
distributed on two lanes. On both lanes a
3-D inspector records the wedge shape, its
position and the orientation of the cheese.
This information enables the Delta-3 picker
to approach the cheese wedge in the right
position, pick it up and place it in the unfolded
shoulder tray. The wedge is picked
up by a vacuum that is generated using
compressed air by means of the Venturi effect,
similar to a water jet pump. This allows
the suction head a freedom of movement
that would not be possible with a vacuum
pump.
Identical control for basic
machine and robot arm
The actual Delta-3 Picker is a servo-driven
robot arm which besides the x, y and z axes
has a rotary axis and a tilting axis. In this
way it can move to any position in its operating
range. Both the basic machine and
Fig. 3: Satisfied in every respect: “The solution simply corresponds to all the requirements
set out by Sachsenmilch,“ says Katharina Rossow, Project Engineer for
Technical Projects at Sachsenmilch. (photo: Peter Goldmann)
the robot arm have an identical control system
which is beneficial for the customer regarding
operation and maintenance.
The wedges passing the first picker,
which are within the respective movement
radius but cannot be detected in the time
window, are then processed by the second
of all in all four pickers. The wedges not
picked up by the second picker are then
picked up by the third picker and those
not picked up by the third picker are finally
picked up by the fourth picker. If a cheese
wedge cannot be picked up due to drawn
in secondary air, it is discharged via a chute
into a discharge box downstream of the
fourth picker.
“We at Sachsenmilch are
very satisfied with the implemented
job“
The carton erector integrated in the plant
with a folding station as special version
doubles the cardboard at the front access to
the product parallel to the packing process.
The ready-sealed cartons are placed on an
inclined carton conveyor. The control cycles
these cartons corresponding to the filling
level in the infeed. The carton stream and
the cheese wedge stream flow in opposite
directions. Each of the four pickers has access
to two cartons. If, for example, one of
the cartons is filled and moves to the shoulder
closer, this design allows the picker to
continue feeding the second empty carton.
If, on the other hand, a carton that is not
completely filled moves on one position
further, the cheese wedges are packed into
this carton by the next picker. By way of a
counting function, the pickers know exactly
how many cheese wedges still need to be
inserted into the respective carton.
In this way, the four Delta 3 pickers fill
the cartons in three or four layers according
to a nested packing scheme. The shoulders
are then closed on the filled carton before
it is moved to the take-off roller conveyor
for manual removal. There are two operators
on duty per shift to ensure a safe and
reliable operation of the automatic cheese
wedge packaging. “We have now gained
so much potential that we can mechanically
pack our maximum cutting capacity,” Rossow
comments. Does this positive outlook
also mean an equally positive conclusion for
the project? Absolutely, Katharina Rossow
stresses: “Everything was carried out according
to schedule and within budget. Putting
it in a nutshell: At Sachsenmilch we are
very satisfied with the job done, both on the
production and on the maintenance side.“
10 · November/December 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com
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