Proco Machinery touts collaborative robotics at SPE Blow Molding Conference

In the packaging space, automation technology in the form of collaborative robots has captured the attention of many processors and manufacturers. Proco Machinery Inc. (Mississauga, ON, Canada), a manufacturer of automation systems for the blowmolding industry, discussed the latest developments in collaborative robots at the recent Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) 33rd Annual Blow Molding Conference in Oakbrook, IL. Proco’s Siva Krish, Vice President of Sales, gave the presentation titled, "Collaborative Robots in the Blowmolding Industry."

“Collaborative robotic systems are seeing strong growth in the blowmolding industry due to the need for greater efficiency and automation,” explained Krish. “These systems are being designed in such a way that they complement the production line and provide simplified operation, a small footprint and enhanced efficiencies.” Collaborative robotic systems reduce the handling of the container and provide an excellent return on investment, Krish added.

Collaborative robots (or cobots) are designed to work alongside humans, assisting them with a variety of tasks. Since cobots are affordable and highly adaptable, manufacturers are eager to adopt this technology. Huge growth is expected in the next few years, according to Krish. The emergence of cobots is tied to the ability to place them alongside humans on assembly lines, along with their affordability and easy programming.

Proco is heavily involved in collaborative robot technology, and recently launched a Half-Cube Palletizer system for blowmolded containers that delivers a major cost reduction versus conventional automation.

Proco’s system automatically palletizes blowmolded containers with minimal operator involvement, achieving a reported 50% cost reduction compared with conventional automation. The technology blends a collaborative robotic system with Proco’s “industry-leading” expertise in blowmolding and packaging, according to Krish.

The only manual operation occurs when an operator places the trays in the magazine. When palletizing is complete, an alarm sounds and the operator pulls out the pallet and replaces it with another one. The palletizer handles both slip sheet and tray configurations in 44 x 56 and 40 x 48 inch sizes.

Proco also recently launched the Robo Packer case packer, another collaborative robotic system that works interactively with humans, requires no special guarding and needs minimal training to learn new tasks. The system is suited for pick-and-place, assembly and packaging applications.

Both the Robo Packer Basic and Half-Cube Palletizer systems are totally integrated packaging modules and come supplied with a six-axis robotic arm and infeed conveyor.

The Half-Cube Palletizer comes with a pallet lift and slip sheet/tray pick-and-place magazines on a common sub-frame, which is fitted with leveling pads and castor wheels. The system has a maximum height of 55 inches, which is the half-cube configuration that is common to most U.S. blowmolding operations.

The Robo Packer also has a box conveyor with all components mounted onto a common sub-frame fitted with leveling pads and castor wheels.

The Robo Packer and Half-Cube Palletizer are designed for easy installation in the production environment; they can be configured to pack all necks up or all necks down. In situations where a standard configuration does not suit a particular application, Proco’s engineering team can develop custom systems.

For one of its customers, Proco recently used the Robo Packer case packer in an automation system for the production of a wide-mouth canister at a rate of 30 bottles per minute for each line. Proco handled the tighter space challenge, the changeover demands and the need for an 18-pack configuration for each line. Its customer went from a three-person to a one-person shift on both lines, achieving a major cost reduction.