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Moba equipment is packed with technology. In this series of articles, we take a closer look at Moba's case packers: the MR10, MR12 and MR30. These robots are specially designed for the needs of the egg grading market. This article zooms in on some of the "hidden gems", great features that really make the difference in how egg packaging is handled in case packing and display loading.
The reject conveyor
The supply conveyor to an MR robot is equipped with an integrated reject conveyor. This feature can be regarded as a standard part of automation but the way open packs or missing eggs are handled will make a difference for sure.
Open (or unclosed) packs, as well as missing eggs, will be detected on the grader's packing lane and rejected in the flow and at the beginning of the supply conveyor. This ensures maximum buffering of packs when the case packer is not running, for example, while reloading the case erector. During transport toward the case packer, the special rollers above the packs will ensure that packs do not accidentally flip open.
The infeed conveyor
The infeed conveyor of the MR12 is specifically designed to handle lots of different pack types, all with their own friction drag. This type of conveyor will effortlessly cope with pulp, plastics (such as PE or PET), or even styrofoam (EPS). The smart feature is that the rollers are placed between the chain links instead of on top of them. This ensures that no gaps will occur between the rollers (as you can see in the pictures below) even during transfers between individual conveyors. This belt has proven to be reliable in transporting cartons and trays in over 250 MR robots and dozens of Contiflow systems.
Top stopper and friction gear
The top stopper is only used to create enough space between dual-row packs. This particular pack has the least friction of all the packs that can be processed. The stopper is deployed to ensure that there is sufficient space between the individual packs. When processing flats (or 18 packs), the space between the flats created by the friction gear is sufficient and the top stopper is not used at all (this friction gear is a build-in functionality that speeds up the packs by making the rollers spin during movement).
Depositing the packs
In a previous article, we explained all about the Flexgripper. We will now focus on a special feature of the Flexgripper: the strip-off unit. This patented smart feature of MR grippers ensures that the packs will never be picked up when the gripper head retracts after depositing the packs.
Packs are placed in the case.
Then
the grippers open and start to retract, while the packs are pushed down.
Finally, when the grippers are retracted, the strip-off is
raised.
Opening the case
When the empty case is led into the robot for loading, two things need to happen:
· The case needs to be properly aligned
· The flaps (if any) need to be opened
All MR robots have an automatic side-guide that aligns the case for loading. The correct setting of the guide is calculated, based on the size of the pattern that is packed. When cases with flaps need to be processed, only two flaps are opened. This is more than enough space for the Flexgripper to enter the case. The shape of the gripper plates pushes the remaining flaps away to enter the case.
Keeping so much room available for the gripper head using only simple but reliable ways to get the product into the case or crate, creates extra means for the gripper head to move into the case from every position necessary. This important feature is of great help to process more complex patterns in a fast and reliable way.
Finally, the straightforward setup contributes to quick product changes.
Filling reusable plastic crates (RPC)
The North American market uses RPCs more often. In many cases these crates have warped sides, making placing packs into these crates quite challenging. To process these RPCs properly, the Flexgripper also has the ability to grip the pattern from the front and back, instead of from the sides. After the packs are picked up, the gripper turns 90°. Now the gripper plates are turned toward the sides of the crate. This means the gripper plates can push the warped sides of the crate outward to fill it effortlessly.