Initially introduced at Pack Expo Las Vegas ’03, an upgraded Superpacker from O/K Intl.. offers beefier motors, an enhanced human/machine interface, and smoother, faster case loading.
The upgrades rely on technology from Rockwell Automation that replaces the controls package the machinery builder had used before. At the heart of the improvements is an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix® 5000 integrated motion-controller/programmable logic controller.
The case loader has two servomotors for pick-and-place loading on two axes. Despite the more sophisticated operations, the new design is simplified versus other two-axis systems, according to O/K engineering manager Owen Kellett Jr. The two stationary Allen-Bradley MP-Series low-inertia brushless servomotors, run by an A-B Ultra3000™ servodrive, are linked directly together for vertical lifting by a single belt loop.
“That requires a fairly sophisticated algorithm, and it was one of the main reasons we went to the Allen-Bradley controller,” says Kellett. “The latest series of ControlLogix processors allows us to achieve the computational speed for the two motors along one axis. It permits powerful, one-step, coordinated motion commands.”
Side-to-side acceleration is minimized, which means quicker and smoother pick-and-place movements, Kellett explains. He says that coordinated motion reduces the forces on the product being loaded. Kellett feels that’s even more critical than the improved precision via the motor’s high-resolution encoder, along the order of 1/1ꯠ’’ rather than 5/1ꯠ’’ accuracy as before. Other highlights include the following:
