Collaboration HVL, MCA and APEX; compact palletiser
‘For a long time we were five centimeters short’
Getting boxes of product from the conveyor belt onto a pallet is not that easy. Certainly not if those boxes vary in size, are offered in a different way each time and have to be palletized very quickly. And certainly not if the palletiser has to be very compact. MCA, HVL and APEX Dynamics joined to work on a satisfactory solution as a team.
The name of the machine already reveals how it works. A vacuum gripper, equipped with suction cups, “flies in” from above to pick a box of products from the conveyor belt and place it in the correct position on a pallet. One action of four seconds per box. The pallet hangs at the top of a lift system.
As soon as a layer is filled, it drops just enough to be able to place the next layer on top. This process continues until the desired number of layers have been stacked on the pallet. Next, a second lift system opens directly next to it with an empty pallet that is filled in the same way. In the meantime, a forklift operator can take away the first pallet and place an empty one. The machine has five versions because palletizing is done in five, each slightly different ways, depending on the size of the box and the way in which the packaging machines place them on the conveyor belt one step earlier in the line. Five different transport modules rotate the boxes once or twice around the axis or turn them with the top upwards.
Robot not suitable
We have developed such solutions before. Initially, a solution with a robot was considered, but it needed too much space and could not reach the speed of four seconds per box. So we came up with this solution. It was not easy, especially since the customer set such high standards for the compactness of the machine. ”
Lack of space was the biggest challenge
Fitting the vacuum gripper with the drive into the top of the lift construction proved to be a major challenge. For a long time we were five centimeters short.”
Combining two gearboxes
To lift and move the boxes at the desired pace, a certain gear ratio and torque was required. Initially, these could only be supplied by the combination of a servo motor and gearbox that was too large for the available space. A solution that was compact enough was eventually found in a cooperation with the Taiwanese multinational Apex Dynamics, manufacturer of gearboxes, racks and pinions, a partner with which both HVL and MCA had collaborated more often. “There was no room for one large gearbox,” outlines Thom van Oss, general manager of Apex’s Benelux branch, “so we opted to combine a smaller spiral-bevel and planetary gearbox. Together they generate the required ratio and torque. A trick we had already gained experience with for solutions for other customers.”
Delivered and installed
The digital conversation with the three gentlemen takes place the day before Christmas. Meanwhile, in week 4 of this year, the five palletisers with transport modules have been delivered and installed in the Czech Republic. “The elevator principle in this solution is not unique and only existing technologies have been used,” says Bart te Braak, “but the end result is certainly not standard. This is truly an example of special machine construction.”
The three partners
Apex Dynamics supplies the essential parts for the mechanical drive of machines and robots. “And that doesn’t stop with gearboxes, racks, pinions and lubrication systems. Apex Dynamics stands for a movement forward. We create opportunities for our customers, the technical industry and the world around us to move forward and work together on advanced solutions for the challenges of tomorrow”, Thom van Oss defines. Apex Dynamics has its own offices worldwide with sales people and engineers.
Source: Link Magazine, february 2021 (www.linkmagazine.nl)
Text: Martin van Zalen (COM-MAGZ)
Pictures: Bart van Overbeeke Fotografie (www.bvof.nl)