With the help of modern robots, KHS has brought low-feed palletisers up to speed – whether they process cans, PET or glass. For beverage fillers, this means easier operation, greater efficiency and higher availability.
The development of KHS’ new Innopal PLR high-performance palletiser was sparked by the idea of combining the benefits of low-feed machines with the capacities provided by palletisers with a high infeed. In this context, the chief question was how efficiency could be improved over conventional systems.
When palletising with a low-level infeed, to date the cross conveyor that places the packs from the conveyor belt onto the stationary pallet gradually moved up from the initial feed height with each new layer positioned – and then back down again to pick up the next layer. If no further measures are taken, traversing these considerable distances limits capacity to about 360 layers per hour. Higher outputs can be achieved if the amount of time needed for pallet changeovers is reduced, for instance. This is the case with the KHS Innopal PB NF palletiser, to name one example, that can process up to 500 layers an hour.
Up until now beverage companies requiring an even higher processing rate had to opt for a palletiser with a high pack infeed; however, where the pallet travels and not the cross conveyor. And yet, palletisers with a high feed are becoming more unpopular on the market for a number of reasons. One of these is that they need two operating levels – one at the bottom for pallet conveying and one at the top for the pack conveyor. This calls for a platform accessed by steps with all the occupational health and safety risks this entails. When the operator is at the top of the system, he or she usually has no way of seeing what is going on down below.
There is also the added difficulty of packs having to be brought up to the level of the infeed. A long elevator or spiral conveyor can be used to this end. Like the platform itself, both incur considerable costs and take quite a long time to install and commission.
With its new Innopal PLR high-performance palletiser, KHS has consciously gone for a different approach, relying entirely on robotics. “To date, robots were primarily used for special tasks that standard palletisers can’t manage efficiently,” Christoph Wiesenack, palletising product manager at KHS, explained. “They weren’t usually associated with high outputs.”
KHS’ team of developers has now created a scenario whereby up to 625 layers can be palletised per hour – which amounts to a nominal capacity of 135,000 cans an hour maximum, depending on their diameter.
Wiesenack added: “For this purpose, we first positioned all elements in the palletizing cell so that the robot has an excellent radius of movement. Secondly, we redefined the descriptions of movement to permit higher speeds. We’ve also coordinated these movements with a second robot that inserts layer pads.”
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