Robotic palletising in the Brewery Industry
Consolidation of brands inarguably creates cheaper prices due to greater efficiencies of production. But does it lead to better quality and greater choice? Fortunately smaller ‘boutique’ brands can exist in such a marketplace, but it does require smarter use of technology. Read how a small Boutique brewery managed to stay in the game.
The challenge facing medium-sized breweries is how to survive in a tightening market. Survival depends on 3 things: product ideas, smart marketing concepts, and efficiencies in bringing the product to market.
Creative product ideas usually result in segmentation of consumers into smaller target groups requiring varying forms and sizes of containers which then put the packaging industry more and more to the test.
Six-axis robots are playing an increasingly important role, and are an efficient alternative to conventional technologies. With their short cycle times and their ability to handle objects gently, they can be used to optimize process sequences, and thanks to their flexibility they also represent an investment in the future.
Pyraser Bier GmbH & Co KG was founded in 1870 in Pyras, today a part of Bavaria. The company, which employs 45 people, sells a range of beers, juices and other non-alcoholic beverages. Pyraser uses refillable bottles exclusively. Annual sales amount to over 9,500,000 litres. The main customers are the restaurant trade, with about 25%, and beverage specialty stores with 75%.
It is forecast that the brewing industry has hard times ahead. Experts predict major closures, that could result in the demise of almost a third of Bavaria’s 650 breweries. There are many reasons for this but a major reason is that large national brands and beers from the former East Germany are penetrating the Bavarian market.
In the end, a brewery can only survive if it is a high-tech enterprise. For Pyraser, cutting-edge technology begins with their own wastewater treatment facility, the use of biogas from a nearby waste dump, and now the use of robots. It is important to optimize technical processes and for this reason they need a highly flexible packaging system.
Today, Pyraser employs two KUKA KR 150 robots equipped with pneumatic grippers, each of which does its “job” for the period of one shift, three days a week. Compared to the set of conventional machines with palletizing systems that was used before, the floor space required has been reduced by approximately 150 m2, a decisive factor in favour of the robots. Costs for the cell were comparable to those for the conventional equipment.
The brewery can fill 24,000 bottles in an hour. As the robots can handle 30,000 bottles (1,500 crates) in the same time period, they are in a position to compensate for malfunctions in other areas of the brewery. To be able to handle the bottles delicately despite this high volume, short cycle times are required without high acceleration values, i.e. quick, fluid and precisely-coordinated motion sequences.
Two robots are used for the operation: One of the KR 150s is taking four crates with empty bottles from the roller conveyor, lifting out all 80 bottles simultaneously and placing them on a conveyor belt. The second robot is taking the same number of full bottles from a belt, placing them in four empty crates, and then putting the crates back on the conveyor system. To complete one cycle, the robots require 9 seconds for filling and 9.6 seconds for emptying.
These cycle times differ because of the measurements that the robot makes of the position of the upper ends of the empty bottles. This way the system prevents the robot from colliding with the bottles. Apart from that, the robots do not need any other sensors, since the crates are centered for handling in a position defined in two dimensions, and at the most only their height can vary.
A robot with a load-bearing capacity of 150 kg is needed for this application, since four full crates with ½ litre bottles weigh 80 kg, and the end-effector weighs an additional 70 kg. The KR 150 likewise shows its flexibility by the fact that its carrying capacity can be increased to 200 kg through minor mechanical adjustments.
The complete robotic cell which was setup by a KUKA systems partner includes the robot substructure, the centering unit for the crates, the safety devices, and a special feature: a pneumatic gripper developed especially for Pyraser. The empty bottles did present one problem in the design of the end-of-arm tooling: sometimes bottles are stuck in the crates upside-down, so that they cannot be gripped by the robot.
To prevent system malfunctions and the associated time consuming manual interventions, the KR150 must be able to remove the crates from the pallet regardless. For this purpose, the robot, after two failed attempts to grip the bottles, moves at only 10% of its usual velocity, while at the same time increasing the pressure of its sturdy wrist. This way the robot is able to engage its gripper hooks in the crates, and lift them off.
One positive feature, because it is apparently not taken for granted everywhere, is the visualization of faults on the Windows interface of the KUKA Control Panel. Because of this, the employee involved is always kept informed as to the status of the system, and can locate the malfunction quickly. The control panel rests securely in the hand, which offers ergonomic advantages. Furthermore, the real-time capable PC controller allows continuous updating.
In the future the robots already installed are to be equipped with tool changers so that they can also be used for handling barrels. This way the strength-sapping manual work of moving the full barrels, which weigh 65 kg, can also be avoided.
This work will demand that the robots show more manoeuvrability, which is, however, provided in any case by virtue of their six-axis design. And if in the future Pyraser realizes its intention of using a mixture of disposable and refillable containers, the KR 150 will have an even greater opportunity to show off its high flexibility.
Machinery Automation & Robotics
1/101 Derby Street
Silverwater NSW 2128
Phone: (61) 2 9748 7001
http://www.machineryautomation.com.au