Four Wrap Around Case Packers Installed at Arnott's

Cermex installed in 2010 three identical multi-function WB45 wrap around case packers and one traditional wrap around case packer for a slower line.

3/10/2011 --- Global player in end of line packaging machinery, Cermex proposes innovative custom-built solutions to meet every requirement, whatever the project or the field of activity. The most recent remarkable example is the design, build and installation in 2010 of 4 wrap around case packers at Arnott's, an iconic name in the Australian biscuit industry.

André Spoor, Project Engineer for Arnott's, explains that the requirement was to move from manual case packing to automated case packing as well as to change the type of secondary packaging, whilst guaranteeing a quick start-up in production on four lines simultaneously. He also adds that the solution needed to protect the integrity of the products and offer flexibility to accommodate frequent format changeovers and exponential increases in speed. Cermex consequently worked on 2 main axes to meet this challenge: innovative project management and original technical solutions!

The primary packaging handled consists in rectangular or pyramid-shaped cartons, or flow-packed plastic trays of round biscuits. The project's first challenge involved controlling product conveying and collation, whilst preventing the flowpacks from rotating. The second challenge resided in protecting the product integrity with the capacity to implement gripping systems adapted to 58 different SKU's packed into 32 different case sizes and formats. The third challenge stemmed from Arnott's choice to change secondary packaging (from RSC to wrap around blanks) at the same time as the lines were automated. Speed was the fourth challenge, with a requirement for 12.5 cases per minute and a maximum pack speed of 175 packets per minute. Quick and easy format changeovers were also stipulated in the requirements. According to André Spoor, in charge of the project for Arnott's, the two most crucial aspects were: "The large number of SKUs and the fact that we previously packed our product in RSCs and these all had to be changed to wrap around cases as part of the project."

A fifth challenge comprised the quick integration of the four machines at Arnott's production site. The requirement for immediate reliability was outlined throughout the thought process.

"The project required that we install four machines back to back / concurrently on our four main production lines. Three of the lines have no buffer system prior to the case packer so once installed any downtime on the case packers would have a significant impact on the site's efficiency."

Cermex installed in 2010 three identical multi-function WB45 wrap around case packers and one traditional wrap around case packer for a slower line.

The first decision was to integrate two robots per machine in order to guarantee operation at the required speed and optimum machine life span. Each robot runs at a reduced nominal speed so that the products do not endure too frequent accelerations and decelerations. Cermex chose robots manufactured by Fanuc, well known in Australia, particularly due to its strong presence in the car industry.

The second key idea consisted in transferring the products 90° onto a collation table by a small Pick & Place module, in order to prevent the flow-packs from rotating. The table is made up of front and rear servo-driven brackets to support the batch.

Robotic gripping and loading encompassed the third key idea: loading is started by robot 1 and finished by robot 2, with smooth movements so that loading can be carried out without using a funnel.

The fourth strong point of the Cermex solution in favour of product integrity is based on the gripping tooling: the heads are composed of 30 to 50 mini suction cups, so as to constantly maintain the vacuum gripping even if one of the suction cups loses its adherence with the product. This is very important for flow-packs, as gripping film is tricky.

A second series of innovations to meet flexibility requirements
Robotics contributed to simplifying the solution and reducing the number of parts and adjustments so that the Cermex WB45 could fully meet Arnott's requirements. In particular, the robot tooling common to several formats, helps to significantly reduce the changeover time in order to achieve 25 minutes maximum.

The absence of multi-lane guides on the product infeed also reduces setting requirements. Furthermore, the robot heads all weigh less than a kilo; a reduced mass which considerably facilitates changeover.

For Arnott’s, there is no doubt that flexibility is a key factor of success "Our company is continually looking to develop new products. The ease of setting up new products ourselves with minimal requirements for new change parts and the flexibility in the machine to pack different case formats is important. It was for this reason that we chose a robotic solution for three of the four case packers."