October 2019

38 n MACHINE BUILDING October 2019 www.drivesncontrols.com Printer cartridge machine is on track for a long life D owntime can be a manufacturer’s worst nightmare, especially if a line cannot be returned to operation quickly. When the Dutch machine- builder Smart Automation was commissioned by a manufacturer of a printer cartridges to develop a machine that automates the packaging of a variety of cartridges, it was essential to build a robust and durable cell. Previously, the manufacturer had used separate packaging machines for each type of cartridge. This was not ideal in terms of time and efficiency. At first glance, the packaging of printer cartridges may seem a simple task. However, the specification required the machine to process six different configurations of packaging formats and contents, including four different combinations of cartridge. It was also important be able to switch between configurations within minutes. “Bringing together so much complexity in a single machine was a particular challenge for us,” recalls Smart Automation’s project manager, Roland Mulder. Cartridges for the black, cyan, yellow and blue inks are fed through a sorter on four moving belts – one per colour – to a cell where they are filled. Here, four robots pick up two rows of between four and nine cartridges each, and place them on two parallel transport rails, according to the arrangement required for each configuration. Four grippers, designed by Smart Automation, pick up two cartridges per second and place them in a tray on the conveyor. During this process, a barcode is scanned to ensure that the correct colours are placed in each tray. The machine can process up to 480 cartridges per minute. One of the key challenges when designing the new machine was to finding a suitable guidance system that could be built into the core of the machine. The system needed to run for several years without maintenance. Smart Automation's designers considered, and rejected, several different linear guidance technologies. A key requirement of the machine was that it had to be able to change product configurations quickly. To achieve this, the designers chose Beckhoff’s XTS (eXtended Transport System) technology in combination with HepcoMotion's GFX guidance system, using individually controlled “movers” to transport items from one point to another along a track that can consist of straight or curved sections. The cartridge-packaging machine contains 5m of track, with a total of 32 movers travelling along it. There are two straight linear V-guide sections and two A Dutch machine-builder has developed a machine for packaging printer cartridges that allows on- the-fly product changes. The machine, which replaces individual machines for each type of cartridge, has been deigned to operate for long intervals without maintenance, using a linear transport system. At the heart of the cartridge-packaging machine is a flexible linear transport system which allows produce configurations to be changed rapidly