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Mechanical Automation of Production Labour
Mechanical Automation of Production Labour
Background:
This food producer's tray delivery system incorporated an automated tray denester that released HDPE clamshells onto an overhead conveyor. The industrial engineering team that designed the facility layout did not suggest any methods of transfering the trays from the overhead conveyor to the main-level infeed conveyors, which was mandatory for filling the trays with product. Numerous skilled-trades professionals and aftermarket engineers attempted to resolve this issue, but none of their solutions provided the repeatable tray transfers necessary for a streamlined operation. The two conveyors were offset in all three dimensions, harsh chemical environment, and the extremely light-weight nature of the packaging materials introduced numerous challenges.
Problem Statement:
The existing methods of transporting trays between two conveyors is insufficient, and mandates one full-time employee to oversee the process and correct deficient transfers & jams. The existing method is slow, prone to machine and human error, and detrimental to the business's feasibility.
Objective:
Develop an autonomous method of transferring packaging materials between the two conveyors.
Above: An orthographic view of the conceptual design. Trays would enter along the top, and follow an embanked spiral path towards an interchange. Trays would then slide down the embanked ramp, which gradually levelled by the exit.
Process:
The client had expressed an aversion towards using motors or complex mechanisms in the final design, out of a concern for the durability and resiliency of the machine to perform in a chemically harsh environment - low cost was a significant priority. This limited design options to use a gravity-fed approach.
After analytically and experimentally studying the kinematics of the problem, our team concluded that:
The system must be inherently capable of transporting the trays regardless of the momentum of the tray at any point along it's trajectory. The geometry of the chute must always direct the clamshell towards the exit
To provide a certain likelihood that the tray will not jam at any abrupt direction changes, the system must be self-clearing, and incorporate a tray-alignment mechanism.
The employer approved a conceptual model designed using these principles, and a preliminary solution was drafted, prototyped, and adapted into a final design that incorporated a tray accumulator on the infeed conveyor and a tray-alignment mechanism driven by a linear pneumatic actuator.
Above: The fabrication and construction of our design was outsourced to a prominent regional manufacturer. This photo taken during an off-site design compliance audit.
Above: The final machine - Photo taken during the installation phase.
Results:
This interesting design challenge warranted a completely novel approach, and the end result was a huge step forward for this company. We believe the results speak for themselves!
Benefits:
Displacement of one full-time employee (FTE)
Improved availability of packaging materials through the overhead conveyor accumulator that was incorporated into the solution - reducing packaging line downtime.
Note: The example project highlighted above was completed in a professional capacity by members of Kettle Valley Industrial Ltd. prior to the formation of this company. It is provided to demonstrate expertise and experience, with proprietary details omitted to maintain client confidentiality.
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