When Rockline, the leading manufacturer of wet wipes, recently wanted to integrate robotics into its UK packaging line in order to increase throughput, it turned to PFM Packaging Machinery for support.
Rockline which installed its first PFM standalone robot line in 2015 to apply pack lids, required PFM to subsequently develop two fully integrated robotic wet wipe packaging solutions that would deliver increased speed.
Technicians at PFM worked closely with the team at Rockline to integrate the insertion of lids onto wet wipe packs using ABB robots, that are packed using two of PFM’s Scirocco flow wrapping machines.
The biggest challenge proved to be delivering the lids at the speed needed for the robots to pick up, which is compounded by the fact that the lids are small and slippery to hold in place, making it hard for the robot to lift it every time. Initially the application of packaging lids was limited to 92 packs per minute, but a higher speed was needed.
Engineers at PFM addressed the issue through the design and development of a lid delivery mechanism, which, following installation, is allowing Rockline to achieve its target of 112 lids per minute.
Rockline UK’s General Manager, Simon Neale explains: “It is a very clever system that they designed to address the delivery and it has allowed us to do much higher speeds than before, but the biggest impact has been on labour costs and waste levels. In addition, the vision part works beautifully with other systems on the line. Our engineering team do validation checks at the start of every job to make sure the placements are correct and the visual system is always spot on.
As a result of PFM automating the two lines, a total of eight staff have been redeployed in the business and pack wastage has been cut by around 75%.
Mr Neale adds: “We are continuing to roll out automation wherever it fits into our business model across all aspects of our process. PFM has just been a great automation partner over the years and we have certainly provided them with some interesting scenarios.
“So far around 85% of our lines have been converted to PFM because of their ability to provide automated solutions. PFM are definitely our preferred UK partner because they are imaginative when pushed for a solution.”
Summarising PFM’s Sales & Operations Director, Chris Bolton adds: “The work at Rockline UK proved interesting but challenging as everything needs to work in sequence to deliver the output speeds required.