Clear Automation has launched a new flexible robot loader, which is to be used for fill and dispense applications.
The company had designed and constructed the system mainly for handling bottles from the trays and boxes on a filling line. The automated database driven equipment is capable of managing both glass and plastic bottles and can accommodate a diverse range of trays and boxes with its own column and row settings. Extra flexibility is provided by the servo axis on the robot, which is capable of altering the pitch of the tooling so that it matches with the pitch of the box and makes cell operation easy through a touch screen graphical HMI interface.
According to Ron McCleary, President of Clear Automation, manufacturers are always on the lookout for formulating better flexible process in their facilities to enhance production rates and productivity with efficient use of available materials. The new system could be easily adapted for different tray and box configurations and line changes and make manufacturers more competitive.
The flexible robot loader system bottles are supplied on a conveyor in cardboard boxes or in plastic trays with separators. The tray or box is placed automatically underneath the robot and pucks, which are centered for the robot, are delivered on a conveyor belt. The robot after picking up the bottles from the box transfers them into the pucks. To downstream processing, a feed screw driven by servo indexes the pucks out of the cell. An auxiliary tray elevator introduces the trays and the boxes into the cell and then the robot could be fixed with mechanical or vacuum end of arm tooling. Furthermore, bottles could be inverted and also cleaned between the operations.
Clear Automation focuses in the engineering, custom design, installation and fabrication of machine vision and integrated robotic systems. Automated packaging and assembly machinery are manufactured for several different industries such as electronics, medical devices, personal care products and machine components.
Source: http://www.clearautomation.com