Case Study

Case Study: Palletizing Time-Sensitive Food Product In An
Extreme Climate
Application: Palletizing
5RERW0RGHO.DZDVDNL&3/URERWOVERVIEWTime Sensitivity

In this case study, the end user faced a dilemma that many
manufacturers have experienced: As machinery ages, should
their dollars go toward fixing their line or replacing it
altogether? Downtime caused by frequent breakdowns
made the decision easy for this end user, who worked with
Denver-based Kawasaki robot integrator Conveying
Industries to revamp their entire line and upgrade their
existing valve baggers, robotic palletizer and stretch
wrapper with up to date equipment that was faster andmore reliable than what they currently had.

Another concern was the highly time sensitive nature of thefood product in this process. Once it’s made, the manufacturer
has limited time to bag the product and start distribution
before it’s deemed unusable. Any downtime would result inimmediate, critical delays in production and bagging, which
would result in loss of sales.

One of the biggest changes Conveying Industries made wasadding a Kawasaki CP180L palletizer to the customer’s line,
which provided the reliability and consistency they needed
to meet their production goals, avoid costly downtime, andstreamline overall efficiency.

Feeling the Heat

“Once you start processing (this product), you can’t afford
downtime,” said Bill Priday, Sales Director at Conveying
Industries. “It was critical that (the solution) was reliable,running and with no downtime.”

The customer’s facility is located in southern California’s
GHVHUWFOLPDWHZKHUHWHPSHUDWXUHVFDQUHDFKXSWRrLQthe summer months. The region’s extreme conditions
presented challenges for the integrator, who needed to ensure
all equipment would be able to operate at such hightemperatures.

SOLUTIONë2OGURERWUHSODFHGZLWKQHZKLJKVSHHG.DZDVDNL&3/palletizing robotë0DQXDOEDJJLQJV\VWHPUHSODFHGZLWKIRUPȖOOVHDO bagging systemë$LUFRQGLWLRQHUVPRXQWHGWRURERWFRQWUROOHUVWRSUHYHQWmachine overheating
ë&XVWRP+0,DOORZVIRUVLPSOHRSHUDWLRQDQG 
troubleshooting

Kawasaki CP series robots feature industry leading cycle times and broad
motion range, while running on an energy-saving controller.

CHALLENGESë'HOLFDWHSURGXFWZLWKWLPHVHQVLWLYHSURGXFWLRQF\FOHë([WUHPHWHPSHUDWXUHVLQPDQXIDFWXULQJHQYLURQPHQWë0XVWSDOOHWL]HDWDUDWHRIEDJVSHUPLQXWHThe customer’s goals sound simple, but they required a highperformance robot and customized solution in order toachieve them. The end user produces atemperature-sensitive food product, which can melt easily.
7KHV\VWHPQHHGHGWREHDEOHWRRSHUDWHKRXUVDGD\seven days a week, and in extreme temperatures –oftentimes over 100°F.

“The CP180L is a dedicated palletizing
zing robot – reliable,
simple to operate and maintain, andnd downtime isvirtually zero.” Priday said. “It’s a robot that will runand run and run… and not present any problems for thecustomer.”-Bill Priday, Sales Director, Conveying
Industriesng Inndustriess

Case StudyConveying Industries updated the customer’s line with newmachinery, including a Kawasaki CP180L palletizing robot
and a new form-fill-seal bagging system that uses durable
polyester bags, as opposed to the kraft paper bags they
were using previously.

Once a pallet is completed, it is transferred down to a top slip
sheet dispenser via conveyor and through an automatic
stretch wrapper machine. The last step is the gravity
accumulation conveyor, where the forklift drivers pick thefinished pallets, and take to the warehouse for distribution.

Once a bag is filled in the vertical form-fill-seal bagger, thesealed bag goes through a bag flattener conveyor toredistribute the product, and a square roller conveyor toensure the bag is level. From here, the product travels
through metal detector, and a laser jet printer puts codeson the bags for tracking.

To avoid equipment malfunctions due to the extreme desert
heat, Conveying Industries installed air conditioning units onWRSRIWKH.DZDVDNL(FRQWUROOHUXQLWVWRSUHYHQWRYHUKHDWLQJ

After the conditioning process is complete, the bags arepresented to the robot for palletizing. An empty pallet isdispensed from the pallet magazine, and is delivered to thepalletizing station via conveyor. The robot picks bags
individually and places them on the pallets in aSUHFRQȖJXUHGSDWWHUQDWDUDWHRIEDJVSHUPLQXWH
Conveying Industries designed a custom end-of-arm tool
for the customer, which uses an air-operated clamshell
design with fingers that fit between the rolls of the pickup
conveyor. Plats on the top of the gripper hold the bag inplace as the fingers glide underneath the bag, ensuring theproduct stays put for reliable and consistent placement onthe pallet.

Smooth Operation
To help the customer with day-to-day operations and allow
for thorough operation, Conveying Industries also developed
DFXVWRPWRXFKVFUHHQ+0,WKDWFRPPXQLFDWHVGLUHFWO\ZLWKthe robot. The interface provides a bag and layer count toensure goals are being met, and allows the operator to adjust
the number of layers per pallet or placing positions whenneeded. In case any issues arise, the system provides
troubleshooting suggestions and tracks the alarm history sooperators can better understand the robot.

RESULTSë5RERWFDQSDOOHWL]HXSWREDJVSHUPLQXWHEDJVper minute on averageë1XPEHURIRSHUDWRUVQHHGHGIRUWKLVSURFHVVGHFUHDVHG
by more than 50%
After implementing the new equipment and CP180L robot,
the consistency the end user experienced was a welcome
improvement.
“The CP180L is a dedicated palletizing robot – reliable, simple
to operate and maintain, and downtime is virtually zero.”Priday said. “It’s a robot that will run and run and run… andnot present any problems for the customer.”With their previous robot, the end user could not achieve
their production goals due to breakdown-induced lapses in
SURGXFWLRQ1RZWKH.DZDVDNL&3/LVDEOHWRFRQVLVWHQWO\SDOOHWL]HEDJVSHUPLQXWHIRUKRXUVDGD\ZLWKIHZHURSHUDWRUV$WIXOOVSHHGWKHUDWHLQFUHDVHVE\EDJVSHU
minute from the previous robot’s capabilities. In addition, thenew system only requires two operators as opposed to five –a benefit reflected in the customer’s bottom line.

The custom end-of-arm tool, designed by Conveying Industries, securely picks
each bag off the conveyorat a rate of 18-20 bags per minute.

Kawasaki Robotics (USA), Inc.
Corporate Headquarters for Americas
28140 Lakeview Drive, Wixom, MI 48393, U.S.A.
Phone: +1-248-446-4100 Fax: +1-248-446-4200

The combination of the Kawasaki CP180L robots’ simple
design, high reliability, ruggedness and high palletizing speed
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and end-of-arm tooling resulted in a solution that suited thecustomer’s needs.

KawasakiRobotics.com