Heavy stacking made easy Robot workstation for palletising aluminium alloys
Imagine 20,000 electric cars. Each weighs an average of 1.8 tonnes - that's a total of 36,000 tonnes. This immense weight corresponds to the annual production of aluminium alloys by SAKER spol. s r.o. - o.z. Alusak. The Czech company is one of Europe's leaders in the processing and recycling of non-ferrous metals and the production of aluminium alloys. These in turn are further processed and are mainly used in the electronics and automotive industries. The Alusak foundry was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of the Saker Group and focuses on the processing of aluminium waste and the production of aluminium alloys. In 2008, the company made a significant innovation by replacing crucible furnaces with rotary melting furnace technology.
The company further developed this technology and invested in modern combustion and filtration systems to ensure environmentally friendly operations. Whereas crucible furnaces used to produce 2,400 tonnes of aluminium alloys per year, the new technology now produces 36,000 tonnes - or the weight of 20,000 electric cars. At the end of the conveyor system, the finished cast ingots have to be removed and safely stacked on pallets. This weighty task has recently been taken over by a robot, developed and realised by Blumenbecker Prag s.r.o.
Offline programming
The use of offline programming can increase the cost-effectiveness of robots, particularly in machining processes, as commissioning times can be shortened and the need for subsequent adjustments reduced.
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Precise stacking with algorithm
A chain conveyor transports the cast aluminium ingots through the cooling water zone to the start of the robot line. The conveyor belt is 18 metres long and guarantees continuous production. Some of the individual ingots have different sizes and weights during the casting process. The input conveyor of the entire workplace is equipped with elements that evaluate the dimensions of the individual ingots in real time. Those that do not fit into the set range are marked as ‘not OK’ and leave the line via a separate conveyor belt. This not only avoids interruptions to operation, but also maintains the required workstation output.
Due to the trapezoidal shape of the ingots, every second ingot per stacked layer is rotated before arriving at the assembly point. Five bars always form a complete surface.The KUKA robot KR120 R2700-2 is positioned at the collection point. Using a gripper specially developed by Blumenbecker for this task, it removes a layer of five ingots and places them on a pallet located on a second conveyor belt. It then removes the next layer and stacks it crosswise on top of the first layer.This is followed by the third layer, which is stacked crosswise on top of the second layer and so on. This special stacking algorithm ensures that sufficient stability is guaranteed. The number of layers is entered into the robot programme by the operator in advance. Each stacked layer is also weighed automatically. The robot workstation is equipped with a measuring and calculation mechanism that evaluates the height and weight of the column in real time.
»From the very beginning we were pleased with the professional approach of Blumenbecker. And although the solution was not easy, everything was completed on the first try and on time.«
Ing. Michal Mitáček, MBA, Ph.D.,
Director of the Alusak plant, SAKER spol. s r.o.
Real-time monitoring and buffer for uninterrupted production
In the event of a robot malfunction, production continues without having to stop the casting belt by installing a manual handling device at the end of the conveyor belt. The system control is connected via a communication bus to a higher-level system for efficient production control and real-time monitoring. The entire area of the outfeed conveyor is optimised for the various functions - for uninterrupted production.
Satisfaction all along the line
‘Our technical solution meets the customer's requirements: to increase production productivity, eliminate very tedious manual work, minimise losses due to incorrect handling and ensure consistent quality of the output product,’ says Martin Foukal, Head of Mechatronics Department at Blumenbecker Prag.
And what does the customer say? The director of the Alusak plant, SAKER spol. s r.o., engineer Michal Mitáček, MBA, Ph.D., sums up the project as follows: ‘After a thorough tender for the supplier of a robot line for the automated palletising of aluminium alloys, we chose Blumenbecker Prag. Our choice was the right one. We encountered a very professional approach right from the design stage. And although the solution was not easy due to our operations, everything was put into operation right away and on time. What is more, we have a service contract in place to ensure fast service calls, which has already paid off several times. The response from Blumenbecker Prag was always immediate.’
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