Page 43 - FoodFocusThailand No.158 May 2019

SMART PRODUCTI
SMART PRODUCTIONON

Consummately

Capable Robot Technology

An advanced robot technology enables the a bottling machine . Equally, the first preforms enter the oven as soon as the
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bottlers running PET containers to achieve change-over has been completed. Moreover, thanks to the robot’s functional
precision, every second of the change-over procedure is meticulously planned,
a complete article change-over to different and there are no unnecessary non-productive times. The reliability of the change-
products, types, formats and packs in record over procedure is attributable to deployment of a robot, a type proven in industrial
time. The programme designed consists applications a thousand times over, and ideally suited for the task of mould
replacement. Since the robot’s function sequence is preprogrammed, sequence-
of individual automation components. related errors are entirely prevented. Moreover, RFID tags on each mould permit
In conjunction with the machines of the unambiguous, reliable identification – thus precluding the installation of incorrect
bottling line concerned, today modules moulds. In addition, they also assure unambiguous assignment of moulds to blow-
moulding stations, which ensures the reproducibility of the change-over function.
control the processes involved and support And finally, the automated procedure enables the duration of the change-over
the operators in their work. Advances routine to be incorporated precisely into every production schedule.
This perfection is also reflected in quantifiable figures: mould replacement on
are particularly apparent in terms of a bottling machine with 24 blow-moulding stations and a mould robot , for example,
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replacing the moulds, where a mould robot is completed in less than 15 minutes. That also enables the line’s OEE to be
module comes into play, rendering operator improved, and significantly more articles to be produced than hitherto. This likewise
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interventions almost entirely superfluous applies, of course, to the other automation components from an advanced robot
technology , for the packer or the filler. The components used for automation in a
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when moulds are being replaced on a line can be individually specified to suit the wishes of the client concerned.
bottling machine 3

ข้อมูลเพิ่มเติม/Additional Information
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And this is how an advanced robot technology works: 1 LineXpress from Krones
when the change-over procedure begins, the stretch 2 MouldXpress Robot module from Krones
blow-moulding machine automatically moves the blow- 3 Contiform 3 Pro. from Krones
moulding station to the change-over position, while the
machine’s guard, in the shape of a roller shutter, opens,
whereupon the mould in the blow-moulding station is
unlocked. After a robot has grasped the complete mould
(i.e. with both halves and the base), the mould carrier
opens, the robot removes the mould package, and places
it in an empty pallet slot on the waiting mould-change
trolley. It then immediately removes a new mould
package and inserts it in the blow-moulding station. All
that remains for the operator to do is to ingress the pallets
with the moulds into the robot’s working range, protected
by a grating, before the change-over procedure, and
remove them again afterwards.

Mould Change-over in 15 Minutes
Mould replacement is thus performed swiftly, reliably and
reproducibly. The swiftness results from the change-over
procedure’s being automated and starting immediately
as soon as the last bottle for the current batch has left

MAY 2019 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND 43

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