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Vacuum Technology Solves Palletizing Challenge

While palletizing corrugated cases is a regular automation application, doing so in a cold room that is regularly hosed with water to stay clean is especially challenging.

The Fanuc robot has end-of-arm tooling that uses Piab vacuum technology to pick either heavy cases or tier sheets.
The Fanuc robot has end-of-arm tooling that uses Piab vacuum technology to pick either heavy cases or tier sheets.

A producer of sweet teas and juices whose corrugated cases of product are palletized and stored in rooms where the temperature averages 35 deg F recently came to Motion Controls Robotics Inc. for help in replacing vacuum cups and pumps that weren’t performing adequately in such cold temperatures.

The problem is that the vacuum cups became rigid and the pumps wouldn’t provide enough vacuum to hold cases reliably. A better system had to be found to handle the cases, which can weigh as much as 42lbs (19kg). But due to the wash-down process, any kind of area gripper consisting of closed cell technical foam had to be excluded from consideration. Also out of the question were fork style or mechanical tools due to working-space limitations.

“With these two options eliminated, it was clear that the only possible solution would be cold-resistant silicone cups and high-quality, powerful vacuum pumps,” says Nathan Baker, Mechanical Engineer at MCRI. “So I immediately contacted Piab distributor Neff Distributor Group, who always provides me with multiple product suggestions as well as detailed engineering support. It was Neff’s suggestion, after further discussion with Piab on the most suitable pump, that we use the SX 12 ejector, a vacuum cartridge for Piab’s line of vacuum pumps and generators that generates the vacuum pressure.”The Fanuc robot has end-of-arm tooling that uses Piab vacuum technology to pick either heavy cases or tier sheets.The Fanuc robot has end-of-arm tooling that uses Piab vacuum technology to pick either heavy cases or tier sheets.

The SX 12, the ejector Piab uses in its flagship piCOMPACT®23 SMART pump for high-vacuum performance, is based on Piab’s COAX® vacuum generation technology. This ejector was particularly optimized for high reliability, flexibility, high vacuum flow, and fast cycle times, and it’s specifically recommended for palletizing solutions requiring large vacuum systems. That made it the right solution for the application that MCRI was working on.

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