s designed with reliability, consistency and flexibility between packing options – and forms the centrepiece of its end-of-line operation for packing and palletising lanolin.The line selected for its UK factory, designed and installed by automation and systems integration company Pacepacker Services, also includes two sack placers twinned with Total Bag Control (TBC) systems for filling, closing, controlled handling and heat sealing, sack kickers, a box-filling system and conveyoring.
In addition to this handling and packing hardware, Pacepacker supplied quality control systems in the shape of integrated check weighing and metal detection.
“A vibratory tube is manually adjusted to direct product to one of three packing options,” explained Pacepacker’s business development manager Paul Wilkinson. “There is a one-tonne bulk bag filling system, as well as a line where bags of up to 25kg are filled and sealed. This is a slow process, delivering maybe one 25kg bag a minute. Alternatively, the lanolin is loaded into boxes in a variety of sizes, again up to 25kg.
“The M410 has always been about flexibility and reliability,” says Paul. “In addition, the M410-iC/185 model, which was only launched in autumn of 2013, offers an increase in payload capacity on its predecessor, from 160kg to 185kg. It was a natural choice, both in terms of payload and reach.”
The box-filling system, also supplied by Pacepacker, weighs each pack as it is being filled, mainly because the headroom in each box is limited. Each completed case is then conveyed to a checkweighing station ahead of the palletiser.
“This company can mix and match pack formats, depending on the specific needs of various customers,” said Wilkinson. “Sacks and boxes arrive on different conveyors, and the palletiser will handle whichever pack type or size presents itself. The robot has a multifunctional end effector, which automatically adjusts to all of the functions it has to perform: picking pallets and slip sheets before palletising commences, as well as bags and boxes.”
