Safe palletizing of wet vehicle batteries with Piab DURAFLEX® Friction Cups

Published 8/29/2023

Piab's DURAFLEX® Friction Cups, plays a major part in Gruppo Esea's pick-and-place system for a leading automotive battery manufacturer.

Italian automation specialist Gruppo Esea got the assignment to design an safe pick-and-place system for the palletizing process at a major manufacturer of vehicle batteries.

"We immediately turned to Piab, with whom we have been collaborating for long time on automation projects for a variety of applications, certain that we would find the best solution for our customer. Piab's technicians always know how to support us optimally, meeting our requirements with state-of-the-art solutions," says Alessandro Liberatore, Gruppo Esea’s CEO.

Gruppo Esea’s solution supports the end of a conveyor belt system where finished vehicle batteries are washed and checked before being passed on to the palletizing area. The smallest batteries measure about 4 x 8 x 12 in, weighing 33 lb, while the largest measure 14 x 26 x 28 in and weigh up to 595 lb

The palletizing system is based on a Gruppo Esea-built Cartesian gantry which picks up each battery individually and releases them onto a pallet, measuring 43 x 32 x 6 in, where the batteries are arranged in checkered patterns.

The pallet composition varies from 24 units for the smallest batteries to four units for the largest batteries. Once filled, the pallet leaves the line and is ready to be shipped to the end customer.

Safe picking, moving and releasing is enabled by Piab DURAFLEX® Friction Cups. 30 units of the following types are in use:

- OBF 50x140 P (polyurethane)

- BFFT 70 P (polyurethane)

- BFFT 50 P (polyurethane).

The line is also equipped with a mechanical system with an anti-fall function in the event of pneumatic or electrical power failures.

"Batteries at the end of the washing cycle are wet objects and therefore they are difficult to pick up and handle. Piab's Friction Cups make it possible to cope with these difficulties, guaranteeing a grip for maximum process safety, regardless of the type of battery format to be handled," concludes Gianfranco Vitale, Gruppo Esea's Mechanical Designer, responsible for the project.

Since the installation of the new system, the plant allows the handling of one battery per minute (including washing cycle), which translates into approximately 600 batteries on pallet per day.

Piab's DURAFLEX® Friction Cups are made of a special material that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of polyurethane. The material leaves no marks on handled objects and has a fantastic elastic memory, even after hundreds of thousands of cycles. These suction cups are ideal for handling oily or moist surfaces as well as dry surfaces. They are able to withstand high shear forces, generally 3-5 times higher than conventional suction cups, and offer excellent grip, regardless of orientation.

Gruppo Esea

Since 1980, Gruppo Esea has been a leading company in the industrial automation sector, designing and building systems for a variety of applications and industries. The company has so far realized thousands of customized turnkey solutions, with the aim of ensuring rapid growth and improved production processes. With an ever-expanding mix of innovative ideas for the World market, Gruppo Esea steadily attracts a growing number of satisfied customers.