K 2013: MainTech's automatic depalletizer enhances worker safety and efficiency

Düsseldorf - While an automatic depalletizing machine may not sound like the sexiest offering at this year's international K show, it's certainly one that can make the life of workers at plastics processing plants easier and safer. MainTech Plastics Engineering, based in Venice, Italy, is specialized in the development and production of innovative auxiliary equipment and systems for the plastics industry. 
Its founders worked for many years for large, established Italian manufacturers of auxiliaries gaining the experience and expertise they needed to strike out on their own. Today, the company is a flourishing producer of practical solutions that meet the handling and processing needs of plastics processors around the world.

At K, the company is introducing a new, automatic depalletizing machine.

So what does it do?

Processors who purchase their materials and compounds by the pallet often have a manual system in place that makes use of fixed blade knives to open the bags of granulate. A worker must first lift the bag from the pallet, pull it over the knives to slit it open, after which the material is discharged into a container, whence it goes into the resin conveying system for processing.

It's a process that requires heavy lifting, and hand injuries are not uncommon. In addition, bag spills give rise to slip and trip hazards.

MainTech has come up with an answer that meets these safety concerns while boosting efficiency.

The automatic depalletizer can empty an entire pallet of 25-kilo bags containing
granulate or powdered material at a potential maximum capacity of 500/600 bags an hour, considerably increasing productivity as a human operator can handle a maximum of about 120 bags per hour, and eliminating manual lifting and wastage due to material spills. The machine comes with a lift pallet for the bags, suction gripping system and slitting unit made of special steel, operated by electric motors and featuring safety controls. The unloading unit consists of a material-collecting bin with vibrating grid to empty bags. The automatic ejection system for emptying the bags is placed on the hopper side. A PLC control system with touch-screen graphic panel shows the operating status; the machine is also equipped with diagnostic alarms and an option to manage historical pages of various amounts of empty bags, by date and by type of material.