
The Customer:
A packaging manufacturer
The Task:
Produce competitively-priced food packaging
The Problem:
The shortest possible cycle times are necessary to deliver the very high volumes typical of packaging applications. The machine must be fast and the part removal robots must be capable of working with very short mould open times.
The Solution:
A compact KraussMaffei system solution, consisting of a multicomponent machine, a high-speed side-entry robot that removes parts inside of 0.5 s, and a counting stacker that also moves completed stacks out of the production cell.
The Outcome:
A KM140-520/55 CZ with two piggybacked injection units and a sandwich nozzle that links the two to a common injection nozzle. The part removal robot is configured as a high-speed system component with very low travel effort. Based on a lightweight model, KraussMaffei Automation designed a linear side-entry robot, capable of operating at high speeds. To meet packaging industry requirements, compressed air nozzles were integrated in the mould. These shorten travel and travel time by blowing the moulded food packaging into the grippers. The mould opening gap is determined by the gripper size, so that when the mould closes again, travel is kept to a minimum. The stacker operates horizontally to avoid unnecessary bending movements by the gripper arm. With part removal times at 0.5 s, factors like these that shave seconds off the time play a significant role.