Supplied precisely and targeted

Der Sonderpalettierer von IEF-Werner erreicht kurze Taktzeiten, lässt sich unter Reinraumbedingungen betreiben und konnte reibungslos in die kundenseitige Produktionslinie eingesetzt werden. (Bild: IEF-Werner GmbH) / The special palletiser of IEF-Werner achieves short cycle times, can be operated under cleanroom conditions and could be integrated in the customer-specific production line without any problems. (Image: IEF-Werner GmbH)

Die Schublade mit den Leertrays: Erst wenn diese geschlossen ist, kann der Sonderpalettierer starten. (Bild: IEF-Werner GmbH) / The drawer with the empty trays: The special palletiser cannot start before it is closed. (Image: IEF-Werner GmbH)

Due to the increasing cost pressure in the medical technology sector, effective production automation is increasingly becoming a key competitive factor. This is particularly evident during the assembly process. Here components are required to be provided fast and precisely, in order to subsequently feed them in to predefined position and on to the various processing steps. For their application, to automate the assembly of pharmaceutical products efficiently, a division of Gerresheimer AG thus selected a special palletiser from the Black Forest specialist IEF-Werner. This innovative solution achieves short cycle times, can be operated under cleanroom conditions and furthermore can be fluently inserted into the customer-specific manufacturing line.

Gerresheimer AG with headquarters in Düsseldorf is a global leading partner of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. The company produces a wide range of pharmaceutical packaging as well as products for the easy and safe administration of medication with about 11,000 employees in more than 40 plants in Europe, North and South America as well as in Asia.

“The complete manufacturing chain from injection moulding through assembly and inspection up to packaging takes place in cleanrooms of ISO class 8“, Eduard Maier, project manager at the Wackersdorf site of Gerresheimer, describes. Using its highly automated machinery, the company produces millions of different customer-specific plastic systems seven days a week, 24 hours a day. In the manufacture the specialists, therefore attach high importance to availability, speed and thus to cost efficiency, but particularly to a consistent high quality. Therefore, for the assembly of the pharmaceutical products, the medical technology company opted for a palletising solution from IEF-Werner, adapted to this specific application.

Trouble-free operation

“Gerresheimer already uses several of our special machines successfully”, describes Stefan Deck, product manager for transfer and palletising systems at IEF-Werner GmbH. “These are unmanned feeding, assembly and palletising systems.“ For the product assembly the specialists had to go one step further with this palletising solution. Since this equipment has to be integrated seamlessly into the already designed assembly line and thereby be connected to an indexing table. The palletiser shall insert components line by line in designated trays with dimensions of 350 x 470 millimetres. “For this application special disposable trays are chosen”, Deck emphasises. They are extremely thin and not very dimensionally stable, but although have to be automatically handled reliably. “This was a challenge regarding stacking behaviour, gripping possibilities, stability and also separability”, the product manager explains.

Custom tailored

The specialists of IEF-Werner developed a compact palletising system with an open structured and modularly. Therewith it was possible to adapt this special solution to the individual custom task. A crucial customer requirement was to operate the equipment in cleanroom class 8. Furthermore a careful handling of the medical components had to be ensured. Stefan Deck opens a drawer on the equipment. “50 empty trays can be stacked here“, he says. “The equipping is carried out by an employee”. When the drawer is closed and the special palletiser is in operation, the first tray is removed from the drawer by a servo controlled de-stacking unit equipped with IEF components, moved on the Y-axis and placed above a shuttle. By means of a wiping unit the tray is detached. Now the pallet is directly positioned by the shuttle under a fourfold suction gripper with rotary unit. Four devices each are removed from the customer-specific transfer nest quickly, quietly and exactly by the gripper, are then turned by 90 degree and placed in the empty tray line by line – eleven lines with eight modules each. For this purpose they are placed into the transfer nest in the grid spacing of the tray by the upstream manufacturing facility.

Put on efficiency

In the meantime a further empty tray is separated and hand over to a second shuttle. This cover tray moves beneath the first tray, situated in equipping position, to the stacking position. Here it is lifted from below in a latch separation. When the first tray is equipped completely it moves as well into stacking position. There it is carried by the shuttle beneath the empty tray that now serves as cover for the equipped pallet. Then the shuttle runs back, to take over and place the next empty tray again beneath the product handling. This change takes less than five seconds, as the second tray is also being equipped, it is positioned by the shuttle in stacking position. The system lifts it beneath the first two trays. The stack that now consists of one empty and two filled trays is placed on a buffer belt line and can be forwarded directly to the packaging station. „For this task we have chosen our transfer system posyART“, IEF product manager Deck explains. As with this reliable, flexible and precise modular system that consists of standard components almost all tasks in the transfer, assembly and logistics sector can be solved. The modules are transported on workpiece carriers across the transport line and positioned precisely for the next work step.

Everything from one source

“Following customer requests for the special palletiser we have chosen a Siemens S7 control that is equipped with an operator panel of type TP700”,Deck explains. With this the operator receives for easy handling a touch panel by default. The user interface of the control is structured ergonomically and intuitively in accordance with IEF-Werner standard and integrates all necessary functions for the operation of the system. Furthermore a modular servo drive SINAMICS S120 is used. This decentralised drive contains many compatible components – for example the multi-axis application required here. For the communication with the customer-specific system the palletiser is equipped with a Profinet interface. The major part of the components used is supplied by IEF-Werner, for example the linear axes installed in the handling or the transport system posyART in special width. “Whether grippers, motors or just the control – depending on customer requirements we supply the entire system from one source“, IEF-Werner expert Deck says. For the automation specialists this includes user support in project planning and finding solutions as well.