Economical automation in the packaging industry

Electromechanical solutions offer many advantages

Electromechanical actuators support automation. © Ewellix

Companies are increasingly replacing fluid power systems with the latest generation of electromechanical actuators. Instead of hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, they use a precision ball or roller screw drive, driven by an electric motor. These components are available in a wide range of standard versions. Thanks to their modular design, their performance, speed and precision can be precisely adapted to almost any task. Electromechanical actuators also offer other tangible benefits: Users can easily integrate them into existing machines, they do not require pipes, pumps, accumulators or other complex infrastructure, and they are very energy efficient. The components usually transmit 80 percent of their input power. Thanks to the direct mechanical connection between the motor and the precision ball or roller screw drive, they can also be precisely controlled and offer repeat accuracy down to a few micrometers over their entire range of motion.

These advantages are very clear in practice. In the manufacture of PET bottles, for example, one of the main objectives is to reduce the weight of the products. Thin-walled bottles are intended to reduce costs and resource consumption. However, safe handling of the bottles during blow molding is difficult. This requires the production equipment to operate within a precisely defined performance range to minimize the risk of quality problems or errors. This is where the electromechanical solutions from Ewellix come into play: the roller screw drives allow the movement of the plastic preforms during blow molding to be precisely controlled throughout the entire cycle. The high speed and acceleration of the actuators contribute to maximum throughput.

When packaging, filling and labeling food and beverages, users are working with an ever-increasing range of packaging shapes, styles and sizes. Equipment needs to be reset each time the line is configured for a different type of packaging. This is time-consuming, reduces productivity and limits operational flexibility. By using electromechanical actuators and lifting columns, the user can configure the lines automatically and precisely via the software. This reduces downtime, makes the production of small batches more economical and reduces the risk of errors, quality problems and unplanned system downtime.

Ewellix has developed the actuators in the CASM series especially for demanding applications in automated high-speed and high-volume production. They are designed for high performance and a long service life. High-quality bearings as well as ball and threaded spindles ensure energy efficiency with their low friction and high precision with their low axial play. CASM actuators have a modular design, are available in all standard sizes and can be operated with different motor types. A wide range of options and accessories enables easy integration into numerous applications.

Giving the robot a leg up

Electromechanical actuators also increase the performance and versatility of modern robot systems and cobots. These collaborative robots now perform a wide range of packaging tasks such as carton filling, labeling and palletizing. Most cobots work on a fixed base. This significantly limits their range and usability. To counter this, users can install the robot on a moving platform driven by electromechanical actuators. Vertical telescopic columns can be mounted on the floor or ceiling so that the cobot can be used at any desired height. These are particularly useful for palletizing when the robot has to stack products from floor height up to two meters or more. Mounted on a horizontal linear module, a cobot moves along a packaging line. It can work at different stations or move automatically between several machines. In both cases, the precision and rigidity of electromechanical actuators are crucial to ensuring that the robot is stable and correctly positioned for each task.

Together with Universal Robotics (UR), Ewellix has developed a range of plug-and-play solutions. The Liftkit and the Slidekit are ready-to-install solutions to easily add a vertical or horizontal axis to Universal Robots cobots. Each kit contains the required hardware, mechanical attachments, controllers and interfaces to the UR system. Also included is UR Caps software to control the additional axis directly from the robot programming environment. No development resources are required and the robot is ready for operation in 30 minutes. The vertically operating lift kit raises or lowers the base of the cobot by up to 900 mm. Larger lifts can also be realized in special cases. The CLSM-150-B linear axis serves as the basis for the horizontal slide kit. This is driven by a ball screw and enables travel distances of up to 1,800 mm.