Conventional plastic coffee capsules pollute the environment, says the activist. In Germany alone, around 10,000 tons of this was reportedly generated as only partially recyclable waste in 2017. Not the new generation, because "home compostable", say the experts of a coffee empire. If one thinks outside the box, one comes to yoghurt cups and other food containers for daily use, which - as millions and millions of tons of plastic waste that pollutes the world - could be disposed of once and for all. Back to the present: the aforementioned coffee capsules made of a special plastic compound can nowadays end up together with fruit and vegetable waste, bread crumbs etc. in the domestic compost container or in the municipal bio-waste and degrade themselves completely.
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During K 2019, a special application will attract the interest of trade visitors: an X-Series Mini-MODULA robot from Campetella for the IML decoration (in mould labelling) of coffee capsules made of a completely biodegradable - thus home compostable - material compound. Golden Compounds called it BioPBS ™; it mainly consists of sunflower seed hulls. The system is a 4-cavity application with a total cycle time of 8.0 seconds, a robot cycle time of 4.2 seconds and an IML interlock time of 0.9 seconds. Three Campetella robots work hand in hand to operate a NETSTAL ELION 1200-510 injection moulding machine (1200 kN clamping force) and/or FOSTAG's inherent four-cavity mould. The renowned Italian label manufacturer VIAPPIANI is responsible for the "L" in the IML.
The IML high-speed production cell is specifically designed to achieve a compact optimized footprint through the integration of standardized robot modules. The system operated with three multi-axis robots. Robot No. 1 is a 4-axis X-Series Mini-MODULA that performs the capsule-dedicated IML process at the movableside of the mould. The system works with an inspection camera for holistic quality inspection of the decorated capsules. The second robot - X-Series SPIN1 - is a SCARA version for high-speed pick'n place operation, i.e. gripping and depositing the finished capsules. Finally, the third in the row, the X-Series MC2-2H - a five-axis Cartesian "top-entry" linear robot - serves the industry 4.0-capable complete system as a stacking and palletizing system.
Speed is not witchcraft
Current Campetella robot design: The use of special materials from the aerospace and competition vehicle industries has made it possible to build lightweight components. It is characterized by absolute precision, reliability, resistance, durability and very high operational speed. Stand-alone exhibit on the Campetella stand: the X-Series GunShot as Cartesian top entry robot unit. The robot demonstrates its record-breaking total cycle time of 2.3 seconds through this very design and with the aid of high-performance drives and is thus unparalleled in international competition.
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Robot Action
The job is as follows: small, round, thin-walled food containers are produced in an 8+8 stack mould of the Canadian StackTeck Systems on an ALLROUNDER 1020 H in Packaging design with a clamping force of 6000 kN and an injection unit of the new size 7000. The exhibit processes new PP material together with 30% added pure PP recycled material. And two Campetella robots are the right solution for removal, transport and packaging tasks: the X-Series SM3-D intervenes laterally in the stack mould and, thanks to its double-arm design, achieves very high process optimisation in the areas of robot travel, IMM opening stroke and thus an aggressive cycle time. Its partner, an X-Series SPIN2 SCARA robot, is known for its solid construction that makes it the ideal stacker with vertical robot stroke. The total cycle time is 4.3 seconds with an IML interlock time of 0.9 seconds.
IML task force
In the Calframax two-cavity mould of the KraussMaffei GX1100-12000 injection moulding machine, 20-litre buckets (5 gallons) are to be labelled with CREAPRINT labels and then placed on a conveyor belt. The 4-axis X-Series Maxi-MODULA robot is dedicated to these tasks and more - namely optical quality control via video camera of the IML operations and the finished buckets. The "side operator" presents an IML interlock time of 1.9 seconds and reports ‘mission accomplished’ after a total cycle time of 13.9 seconds.
