LINEAR COMPACT RAIL GUIDES FOR PALLETIZING

SAS Automation has developed a new clamp for the adaptive handling of bags of different sizes by implementing the rails by Compact Rail, a solution with a high life cycle, robust and resistant to contamination.

SAS Automation, an integrator based in Xenia, Ohio, with many years of experience in the automotive industry, due to the gradual downturn in the auto market, decided to explore new industries, performing a lot of due diligence before venturing into the consumer products palletizing market.

Development of a high-performance clamp

Industry analysis and research conducted among palletizing system integrators convinced SAS of the need to develop an adjustable bag clamp that would provide high performance and durability even in the harshest packaging plant environments.

"There were other bag clamps on the market, but none offered the kind of life cycle required in the palletizing industry. And downtime for repair or replacement is an exorbitant cost when you simply have to load the goods onto pallets and walk out the door,"

Commented SAS Automation's Managing Director, Robert Dalton.

"We set out to create a highly functional EOAT designed to handle the size of the largest bag typically found in Europe (50 kg), providing a tool that offered the longevity that integrators and packaging companies were asking for"

The result was the ABG-50, a 78 kg bag clamp for palletizing plastic, fabric or paper bags that was launched in October 2009. The ABG-50 eliminates the need for expensive, custom equipment with its width adjustment system.

In less than 30 seconds, an operator can change the width of the instrument bag from 191 to 533 mm using one control screw and 2 shaft locking mechanisms. An optional servo drive can adjust the width on the fly to accommodate mixed loads. The ABG-50 also comes with optional features, such as inserting a separation sheet, or pallet hook for even greater functionality.

Researching linear guide solutions

John Prater, Technical Sales Specialist at SAS, added: "Our research showed that many other so-called adjustable clamps on the market used aluminum profile frames that wore out very quickly and didn't adjust easily. We have years of experience using linear rails in products like our shuttles and Punch Press degaters.

We were aware of their heavy-duty nature, so it made sense to study the feasibility of integrating linear rails into this type of application where durability would be our competitive advantage. We turned to our long-time supplier, Rollon Corporation, to help us develop an alternative solution."

Compact Rail: a combination of durability and precision

Prater continues:

"Rollon's application engineers recommended the rail from Compact Rail for the bag gripper because Compact Rail rails provide the combination of precision and durability required for this application, while also offering additional benefits such as a wide range of surface treatments, automatic lubrication and gripper cleaning systems (essential in some particularly challenging palletizing environments) and an exceptional misalignment compensation system in both parallelism and coplanarity. Basically, the Compact Rail offers accuracy and precise alignment without burdening the application with unnecessary costs, so it was a perfect solution to integrate into our tool increasing ease of use and reducing our production costs."

Palletizing lines must be able to handle the dust and dirt typically found in facilities that package grain, chemicals, minerals or cement. With the larger rolling elements used inside Compact Rail sliders, dirt and contamination are less of a problem than with recirculating ball bearings. Because

Compact Rail sliders slide on an induction heat-treated steel surface, they are able to move very quickly, very quietly and with an extremely low coefficient of friction. The ABG-50 uses the 43 Series Compact Rail, which features 43 mm of coupling surface mounting dimension on the back side of the rail, made of cold-drawn steel.

This linear rail with induction hardened tracks is available in lengths up to four meters; beyond this length the rails can also be spliced to make a much longer rail.

Increase in application flexibility and versatility

SAS Automation general manager Robert Dalton added: "The decision to use linear rails on this project allowed us to split the clamp into two self-contained instruments. This allowed each side to operate independently in the drive and eliminated the need to insert a mechanical link that would require adjustment each time the bag size was changed.

This configuration greatly simplified the changeover process for the bag line operator, increasing flexibility and versatility of the application. We have also incorporated plates that straighten the bags as they are placed so that they remain in a proper and stable position on the pallets.

This precision is critical for our customers because straighter bags mean more stable pallets and smoother transportation."

To learn about the advantages of linear guides, watch our on-demand webinar on Compact Rail guides