Three-axis robot for faster pick and place

THE addition of a 3-axis robotics casepacker to the range of pick and place bottle handling machines from Cermex, of France, has unlocked a previous barrier to higher speeds.

THE addition of a 3-axis robotics casepacker to the range of pick and place bottle handling machines from Cermex, of France, has unlocked a previous barrier to higher speeds. To increase production rates demanded by packers, the third axis on the new ER63 pendulum design model allows continuous motion tracking of product during infeed via twin scrolls. This is achieved by mounting the robotic arm, which holds the pick/place gripper head, onto a separate overhead guide rail that allows around one metre lateral reciprocating motion. Driven by a servo-motor controlled threaded worm shaft, the arm is speed synchronised to follow and descend onto the bottles as they screw-feed along the collating section of the case-packer; picking up the bottles without the need to stop, as with 2-axis models. This increases the speed from 200 to over 300 bottles/minute, at up to 30 cycles/minute. It also reduces the stresses of inertia during stop/start movement to lengthen the life of components, especially the infeed scrolls. Content agitation is greatly reduced, and because the bottle is gently released from the screw, the scuffing of quality labels or sleeves is avoided. In a joint development programme with Colgate-Palmolive at its 26-line factory in Compiegne, north of Paris, the first ER63 has been integrated into a complete filling and packing line featuring equipment from preferred suppliers. In a press demonstration, the packer was running with a 20-head gripper, handling 1-litre PET bottles of liquid, and filling into two rows of five cases erected and fed by a Cermex case erector. The first public showing will be at Interpack, from April 24-30.