Robotic Pail Palletizing Line
APG Robotic Solution a Success for Arch Chemicals
As one of America’s largest producers of granular calcium hydrochloride for swimming pools and spas, Arch Chemical’s Charlestown, TN production line faced a unique challenge: how to increase speed and efficiency when palletizing a wide range of containers rolling down two lines. “The old mechanical system, which could handle only one container at a time, just wasn’t cutting it,” said Dave Sauer, the plant’s Process Control Engineer.
As well, vacuum pick-up — a process employed by many automation companies — would not handle its various-sized containers, ranging from 15- to 100-pound pails right up to 275-pound drums. That’s when Arch Chemicals looked to Automation Project Group (APG) for a solution.
“We had worked with APG in the past on case-packing cells,” said Sauer. “We chose them this time for their end-of-arm tooling for each of the two robots.
“The old mechanical system could handle a maximum of nine pails per minute,” Sauer explained. “Our target time was based on how fast our filling equipment could perform, which gave us how many pails we needed to palletize every minute.”
The APG Solution
The APG solution employed two robots, which can be quickly programmed to accomodate the different sized container coming down two lines. Each cell employs robust end-of-arm grippets that accurately and effectively place the various-sized containers on their own unique pallets.
“The real challenge for APG was space at the end of the two lines was at a premium,” Sauer explains. “APG did a great job with its designs. With our earlier mechanical system, we could not handle the small containers; now we can do all sizes.”
Calcium hydrochloride makes for a pretty corrosive environment, which means regular equipment purging. Again the APG robotic choice was sufficiently robust to handle this difficult environment.
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“Mostly, the system goes 24/7, though naturally we inspect it weekly and shut it down for one or two days for regularly scheduled maintenance,” says Sauer. “There was a lot of skepticism at first but now most of our production people really like the system.
“The robotic arm sits atop a six-foot pedestal that gives it greater reach for its simple-yet-articulate end-of-arm tooling,” continues Sauer. “The robots are also equipped with photo eyes and sensors that can even discern the wrong pallet.”
Besides improving productivity, the APG solution also removed a major ergonomic challenge. With the earlier mechanical system, Arch had to hand-stack at least 15% of the pallets.
“The APG system has helped us reduce repetitive strain injuries and increase safety,” concludes Sauer. “We feel we have a long-term solution.”