Select a case study from the list below for more details:

• Packaging System
• Conveyor System
• Robotics
• Plant Upgrade
• Relocating Equipment
  
  

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Packaging System

Customer Requirements:

A soft drinks packaging line was required to be designed and manufactured by Montip. The system needed to be able to take bags of product which were being stored in pallet boxes and feed automatically to an operator who would place the bags into shipping boxes.

The Solution:

1. The pallet boxes weigh 600kg and are placed into a tipping machine which was designed and manufactured by Montip.

2. The tipping machine consists of a steel frame mounted on two bearings and rotated by means of a motor and gearbox. This frame is mounted above a PVC belt conveyor.

3. The entire system consists of 12 tipping machines which are located behind a roller conveyor which transports the boxes from one operator to another. The tipping machines and conveyors are linked over a Device Net network and controlled by an Allen-Bradley PLC.

4. When the frame is rotated the contents of the pallet box empty onto the conveyor. The conveyor transports the bags to a pick plate where the operator picks the bag and places it into a box.

5. The conveyors incorporate sensors and independent control of different sections, keeping each box separate and allowing for individual weight measurement at an automatic weighing station.

The Result:

With the new system in place the operator now remains at a filling station and the product is transported to him. The product arrives in single rows, this reduces the workload for the operator. The system has reduced product changeover times by fifty per cent. Our customer has increase production by 20 per cent using the same number of operators.

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Conveyor System

Customer Requirement:

Our customer decided to install a spiral chiller in an existing production facility. Montip was commissioned to design and install two conveyor systems. One would transport the product from the filling machine and place it on the belt of the spiral chiller, and the other would remove the product from the spiral chiller and supply it to an existing shrink wrapping machine.

The Solution:

1. Montip designed and manufactured both conveyor systems which included a vision and reject system on the infeed section to prevent damaged product from entering the chiller. Montip also included and pusher system which in addition to placing the product on the belt ensured that there was a space around all cartons to ensure proper cooling of the product.

2. The take off conveyor included an unscrambling unit which ensured that all products entered the shrinkwrapping machine in the correct orientation.

3. The complete system is controlled from a single control panel fitted with a Mitsubishi PLC and HMI. All inputs and outputs are displayed on the HMI to allow for easy fault finding. The HMI also contains the product menus, this allows the operator to change products without stopping the production line.

The Result:

The conveyor system is now installed and working as requested, our customer had planned to employ two extra operators to supply and remove the product from the chiller, by using Montip this was not necessary as we designed and installed a fully automatic solution.

Robotic Electro-polishing Cell

Customer Requirements:

A leading medical device multi-national company required assistance in automating their electro-polishing stage of manufacturing in their plant.

The Solution:

1. A jig holding the product was to be passed through a cycle with several stages of cleaning, electro-polishing and drying.

2. To move the jigs we installed a long-reach Fanuc M710CL robot with a mechanical gripper head designed and built by Montip.

3. The cycle details for each type of product vary. To allow for this the robot runs a dynamic cycle. A barcode scanner reads the product type for each jig and adjusts the process accordingly for each step of the cycle. This means that up to nine different product types can run simultaneously without any instructions from the operator.

4. The user interface is a GE ProFace touch screen. Here the user can monitor production, define new product types and modify existing types, view statistics, etc. 5. The cell is completely enclosed and secured by a double trap-key system. To enter a user must take out the key from the operator panel (disabling the robot) and use this key to open the door. The entire safety system is controlled by an ASI Safe controller running independently of the robot. This is linked to the emergency stops, safety sensors and the trap-key.

The Result:

The end result is fully automatic process capable of running non-stop, 24/7. Passwords allow for variable levels of access (operator, technician, supervisor /engineer). Operators are redeployed in greater value-added processes and kept away from potentially hazardous substances and machinery. Production has increased using less operators and without the need to purchase extra electro-polishing equipment.

Plant Upgrade

Customer Requirement:

Our customer wished to upgrade an existing production line. Most of the component parts of the production line were almost twenty years old, while mechanically the production line was in good condition the electrical and control system was very troublesome and had many breakdowns.

The Solution:

1. Montip undertook the complete upgrade project and committed to having the plant back in production in two weeks.

2. We then designed an integrated control system for the complete production line.

3. For the new system we used a Unitronics PLC with remote I/O and one operator interface. All other components were commonly used and locally sourced units. The control system was built and tested at Montip and then shipped and installed at our customer’s premises.

4. Montip supplied full documentation including electrical drawings plc ladder diagram and all relevant software for the system.

The Result:

The electrical and control system has been fully upgraded to the standard of a new production line. Breakdowns on the line have been reduced by almost ninety per cent. An added benefit of our system is that all production data is now stored in easy to operate menus, this means that what was a complicated process is now simple to operate, and the quality of the final product is much more consistent.

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Relocating Equipment

Customer Requirement:

A large Irish food producer needed to relocate a complete packaging line to a new premises approx three hundred km from their existing site. The packaging line could only be out of production for five days due to supply contracts.

The Solution:

1. Montip undertook the complete relocation project and committed to having the plant back in production in five days.

2. Montip started by visiting the original site and drawing all existing machinery, we then did a complete layout drawing of the new site showing all equipment.

3. As the equipment was very large it had to be removed from the existing site and replaced in the new site through the roof. Montip hired two cranes, one at each site. The packaging lines were broken down into six metre sections, removed be the crane and loaded onto eight trucks, which were also hired by Montip. The trucks travelled overnight to the new site, and the next morning were unloaded again by crane and placed through the roof onto the new production areas.

4. Montip then reassembled and recommissioned the plant.

The Result:

The complete packaging line had been dismantled and relocated in a new site three hundred km away in five days, thus ensuring no disruption of supply to the market.