Background
A large OEM in the packaging industry was facing trouble in loading boxes. The work had been done manually resulting in long cycle times and ergonomic challenges. They had a challenge to develop a machine to load chocolate powder boxes for a customer. A robot was decided and now they needed tooling to handle the boxes. The OEM consulted with Piab as they had trust in our products as well as our knowledge in vacuum applications. The requirement was that the robot should be able to pick up boxes of 1 and 2 kg with a 5 seconds cycle time. Here was a restriction on costs too. They needed a good solution, but at a low price.
Solution
A number of products was tested and the choice landed with eighteen Value Line® suction cups VL60BX and one centralized vacuum pump – the piCLASSIC with 3 COAX® Xi cartridges, along with a vacuum filter. The Value Line® suction cups show good performance at a value price. The BX style of suction cups provides needed level compensation on the corrugated boxes. The piCLASSIC vacuum pump was a good match for the application as it provided large capacity with the COAX® Xi cartridges and a quick response time.
Result
The OEM achieved their goal of reducing costs with this machine while still meeting their productivity goal. The end-customer saw an increase in productivity with a reduction in the accident rate and ergonomic problems.
