Food & Drink Process & Packaging Issue 30 2020 | Page 14

Rather than picking up the entire stack and relying on gravity to despatch the bottom crate, the Crate DESTAKer clamps the bottom crate down, lifts the rest of the stack up, and then despatches the bottom crate Case stacks up for new dual crate destacker Brillopak has launched a new Dual Crate DESTAKer for feeding empty retail crates to food packing lines at high speed with maximum flexibility. Based on the same proven operating principle as the original Crate DESTAKer system, the new Dual Crate DESTAKer destacks two stacks simultaneously, enabling handling of 18 crates per minute and servicing of multiple packing lines. Brillopak’s Crate DESTAKers are employed in packing facilities for food products ranging from fresh fruit and veg to meat, baked goods and pizzas. The innovative system is prized for the unrivalled flexibility and reliability it offers versus the competition, thanks 14 FDPP - www.fdpp.co.uk to a game-changing operating principle; rather than picking up the entire stack and relying on gravity to despatch the bottom crate, the Crate DESTAKers clamps the bottom crate down, lifts the rest of the stack up, and then despatches the bottom crate. In a typical packing hall set-up, crates are transported to the line via forklift by the pallet load (usually around 30 to 40 crates high). The pallet load is pushed onto an accumulation conveyor that feeds stacks (usually five crates) into the crate destacker, leaving operators free to focus on other tasks while the machine continues to destack onto the line. UNIQUE OPERATING PRINCIPLE The Crate DESTAKer uses pneumatic clamps to grip both the bottom crate and the upper (remaining) section of the stack. The upper clamp is powered by two servo motors, which lift the crates up to enable the bottom crate to be moved out of the stack and indexed into the downstream automated crate packing system. The use of servo motors makes the destacking system infinitely adjustable – the operator can change between crate sizes, change the speed at which the system accelerates and decelerates and alter the height to which the stack is lifted – all via the system’s user-friendly HMI.