Cavanna’s Cartesio robotic division demonstrated its new vertical cartoning concept for candy, energy and cereal bars, the G35. A robotic island consisting of three robotic arms streamlines display carton forming, transfer, product collation and closing, along with a patented product insertion device.

G35 enables tight integration with the upstream flow wrapper and presents a compact, space-saving footprint. Quick changeovers are supported by servo-automated belt adjustments that eliminate change parts and fine tuning.

Fed by a 600 piece/minute flow wrapper, the Interpack demo was configured with a first-in, first-out (FIFO) vertical buffer and input belt feeding a race track collator.

The first robotic arm picked and formed 4 cartons, then inserted them in a chain conveyor controlled by two servo motors. Chocolate bars were fed from a circuit of buckets to a robotic transfer station. There, the second robotic arm picked, collated and packed bars vertically into 3 layers in each of 4 cartons simultaneously. The third arm closed and sealed the cartons.

Traditionally, one proprietary robot controller is required per robot arm. ELAU enables Cavanna to perform robotic kinematics merely by adding IEC 61131-3 conforming software objects to the PacDrive automation controller running all 16 servo axes.

www.cavanna.com