Production automation at Jumi Plastics: 3 cobot palletisers
- Consumer goods
- Collaborative robots
At Jumi Plastics, an innovative player in the plastics processing industry, efficiency and continuous optimisation are key. The Limburg manufacturer specialises in producing a wide range of plastic products and keeps investing in smart technologies to increase productivity and improve ergonomics on the shop floor. In line with this vision, Jumi Plastics recently called on Elenco to integrate three cobot palletisers. Together, we created a compact and safe automation solution that perfectly addresses the specific challenges of their production environment.
Case
For one of its customers, Jumi Plastics produces plastic growing tables. This product consists of three types of component: a lid, a base and four legs.
Each of these parts is made on a separate injection moulding machine. Until recently, a linear robot placed the finished parts on a buffer roller conveyor. From there, operators had to take the parts off the conveyor by hand and stack them on a pallet. This process was not only labour-intensive and repetitive, but also strenuous for the operators and prone to errors, such as crooked stacking patterns when lids were not pressed down properly and legs stacked incorrectly.
Jumi Plastics called on Elenco to automate the stacking process in a way that fits its compact production environment.
Solution
Because of the limited space between the machines (approx. 3 m), we quickly turned to a cobot (collaborative robot). Cobot palletisers generally have a small footprint. We worked out a layout in which the pallet stop is placed not next to but in front of the cobot set-up. Thanks to this arrangement, the footprint of the cobot palletiser is even more compact than that of our standard PalCobots. This was a crucial requirement of the customer, as a passage had to remain free between the palletiser and the injection moulding machine.
Drop-off tables with sensors for lid and base
At the injection moulding machines for the lids and bases, we designed two custom drop-off tables, each equipped with sensors. When the linear robot places a part on the table, the sensor detects it and sends a signal to the cobot. The cobot picks up the warm part, stacks it in the right position on the pallet and then presses it down for correct positioning, since the product is still flexible from the heat.
Handshake with the linear robot
For the legs, we engineered a different cobot set-up. Here, the parts are not placed on a drop-off table; instead, the legs are presented to the cobot at a fixed transfer position. Using a handshake principle, the cobot communicates with the linear robot: as soon as the legs are ready, the cobot picks them up with a specially developed gripper and stacks them in a container. See the video below:
User-friendly palletising software
All three palletisers are equipped with a teach pendant running our intuitive PalCobot palletising software. This lets operators create stacking patterns easily, without needing a single line of code. The patterns are shown in a clear 3D view, which makes the software even easier to use. The software has several user levels: operator, maintenance, engineer and administrator.
Specific rights can be assigned per level. For example, operators can only select patterns and not change them, which provides more process reliability and protects the settings.
The interface is available in four languages (Dutch, English, German and French), which simplifies use in multilingual production environments as well.
Remote support and fault analysis
To guarantee the reliability of the palletisers, the software includes a log and error message overview. In the event of a fault, both operators and technical staff can quickly analyse error messages, identify the cause and make adjustments. This also makes remote support by Elenco possible, so any problems are solved quickly, without unnecessary downtime.
