ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS BAGGING SOLUTIONS
INMOCO
Electric actuator increases accuracy and productivity of bulk bagging machine
When end users of a precision bagging machine started using economical bags with inconsistent sizes , this impacted accuracy and productivity of the bulk bagging process . The OEM switched to Tolomatic ’ s electric screw actuators as part of a new design to increase the flexibility of bag size handling . This improved repeatability and removed reliance on the machine operators , which increased end user productivity .
Whether the product ranges from fertiliser through to sugar , the filling of bags used to store and transport bulk material demands accuracy to ensure that the customer receives the agreed amount , and that the manufacturer can supply with efficiency and confidence . It ’ s also crucial that bags are sealed securely , and to achieve high productivity , this process has to be completed at speed , with repeatability ensured .
Providing bagging solutions for bulk producers in the USA , Thiele Technologies builds packaging machines that measure , fill , and seal . Despite the high repeatability of its machines , customers from the pet food market increasingly required the machines to fill inconsistently sized bags . Supplying large retail chains that were demanding more durable bags , the pet food manufacturers exchanged paper designs with woven poly types . To keep costs low for the retailers , economical bag supply was resulting in size inconsistencies , sometimes by as much as nearly 2cm , which slowed down the process , and also impacted quality of filling and sealing .
To resolve the challenge for its customers , Thiele developed a bag top reference mechanism for its machine , to compensate for the varying length bags . The new system is fully automated , removing the need for manual set up and adjustment . The result is increased repeatability and productivity of the bagging process .
The new mechanism uses four Tolomatic B3S10 rodless electric screw actuators . The actuators precisely position the incoming bags before they are inserted into the filling and sealing line . Two of the actuators adjust the vertical position of the bags , catching and lowering them to a precise reference point determined by a vision system controlled by the machine ’ s PLC . Meanwhile , the bags are centred in their trays by two horizontally mounted Tolomatic B3S10 actuators .
The horizontal actuators include two carriers riding on a screw , with right-hand threads on one half and left-hand threads on the other . As the screw turns , each pair of carriers moves toward each other to centre the bag in the tray . The actuators are joined by a coupler and are powered by a single servo motor , connected by a compact 180-degree Tolomatic belt drive . Once the bags are vertically aligned and centred , they are picked up by a pneumatic arm and inserted into the filling and sealing line .
Improving repeatability was a key objective . The new machine achieves a tolerance for positioning the tops of the bags of less than 1mm . Even when bag dimensions vary , this level of precision can be maintained .
The mechanism also enables the operator to change the filling and sealing specification to suit the bag size with the push of a button . Tolomatic ’ s programmable actuators also allow machine users to automatically adjust bag size recipes to
help speed machine changeover . This removes reliance on the machine operator to ensure repeatability , and eliminates the time and wastage incurred in a manual , trialand-error approach to sizing set-up .
Thiele also wanted to use electric , rather than pneumatic actuators , because of the speed and accuracy they provide . Tolomatic ’ s robust design includes a stainless steel band that seals the actuator from particulate which ultimately extends lifetime and reduces maintenance requirements for end users . The actuator manufacturer ’ s customisation capability , frequently applied to OEM projects , also faciliated fast , economical development . This has enabled Thiele to use multiple motor and drive configurations to provide the flexibility needed across the diverse range of their customers ’ applications . This flexibility will also make it much easier to update Thiele ’ s bagging systems already deployed in the field .
Tolomatic is distributed in the UK by motion specialist , INMOCO . INMOCO ’ s engineers can support with engineering development , integrating with Tolomatic ’ s design team . INMOCO can assist UK customers with actuator specification and sizing , and thanks to Tolomatic ’ s Your Motor Here design facility , OEM ’ s can integrate their choice of servo motor with the electric actuator design .
For further information , please visit www . inmoco . co . uk
88 PECM Issue 58