Robotic Case Packing System for Motor Oil Quart & Gallon Bottles - TransAutomation Technologies

Case packing motor oil bottles: http://robot.fanucamerica.com/Product...

CMJ Brothers Inc., a motor oil manufacturer in Paramount, CA built a new filling line to produce quart bottles up to 160 per minute, and gallon bottles up to 60 per minute. With limited space in the facility, installing a traditional drop packer was a challenging option. CMJ went to the experts at FANUC America Authorized System Integrator TransAutomation Technologies for an alternative, robotic solution. The robot cell needed to be capable of case packing both the quart-size and gallon-size bottles. So TransAutomation Technologies developed two end of arm tools that rest in a stationary tool fixture and are accessible by the FANUC Robot. The two end of arm tools were designed and built with ease of change-over in mind, employing a bayonet-style connector with quick-release clamping mechanism. End of arm tool change-over for this system requires minimal effort from a technician to secure the clamp and connect compressed air and control power.

Filled motor oil bottles are inducted into the robotic case packer by dividing the inbound product stream equally into four parallel conveyor lanes. The robot selected for this case packing cell is FANUC’s M-710iC/50H, five-axis articulated robot. Engineered for extremely high speed, application flexibility and reliability, the FANUC M-710iC series delivers repeatable precision and unparalleled performance. The robot end of arm tool for the quart bottles uses 12 individual vacuum cups fixed in a 3 x 4 pattern for picking the bottles by the top of the bottle body, not the cap. The vacuum mechanism then retracts, lifting the bottles into the metal frame for stability while in motion.

At full production speed of 160 bottles per minute, the FANUC M710iC/50H robot is performing 14 cycles per minute. When the system needs to change over from quart to gallon-sized bottles, the robot’s “Tool Change” program is selected by the operator. Then the FANUC M-710iC/50H robot moves to the tool stand and deposits the quart tool into its storage position on the fixture. The robot pauses while the operator enters the cell, releases the clamp device, and removes the compressed air and electrical connectors. The robot tool change cycle is re-started, and the robot automatically extracts the bayonet mount, then moves to the gallon fixture and re-inserts the bayonet. The operator closes the clamp, attaches the air and electrical connectors, and then presses start on the robot pendant. The entire tool changeover process takes less than five minutes and requires no tools. Gallon case packing requires the oil bottles to be picked up by the handle, three bottles per pick. The handles are clamped with a gripper device then retract upward into the tool for stability in travel. CMJ has two case sizes for the gallon bottles: A three-gallon case and a six-gallon case. The six-gallon case shown here requires two robot cycles to achieve a full case.

With this intuitive and efficient robotic system, TransAutomation Technologies was able to meet and exceed CMJ Brothers’ automation goals; Not only were they able to develop a robotics case packing solution that would meet the high throughput rates required for the quart bottles, but also capable of handling the heavy weight of the gallon bottles, all while eliminating health and safety hazards posed by performing this difficult, repetitive task with manual labor. To learn more about FANUC America Authorized System Integrator TransAutomation Technologies, please visit http://www.transautotech.com.