Is there such a thing as a team of robots? Although they’re obviously not people, we’d still argue that, yes, they can work together as a team. Just take project Flip, which features two sets of three Omron Viper robots performing their packaging duties together with military precision.
Project Flip was commissioned by one of our most loyal clients, the world’s biggest manufacturer of chocolate products. “They wanted to fill a lidded box with individually wrapped chocolates,” engineer Noud van der Linden recalls. “The remarkable thing about this project was the high start-up volume and high throughput speed that made it inherently unsuitable for human hands. Robots were the only way we would achieve the ultra-short cycle time the client wanted.”
Inventing the wheel
That also meant that there was no one-size-fits-all solution to be found. “No way,” Noud adds with a smile. “This was a wheel that no-one had invented yet, so we did it ourselves. We put pen to paper on the first sketches and ideas and commissioned the line a mere nine months later.”
Two robot modules
The result is an in-line setup, partly mechanical and servo-controlled, with two robot modules. Noud explains: “The first three robots each take a flat box from the magazine, fold it open, glue the base and place it on the step conveyor. Next, the mechanical filler takes over, filling the boxes with chocolates three units at a time.”
Second robot trio
At the lid station, a second trio of robots takes over. The three Vipers take pre-glued lids from their (double) magazine, shape the boxes and place them in a hopper. A mechanical arm then places the lids in the boxes and closes the adhesive flaps. Job done!
the ultra-short cycle time the client wanted"
Separate sets of tasks
Because of these two separate sets of tasks (handling the box and processing the lids), project Flip is substantially different from project POP, which is more monotonous and therefore a better fit for the robot cell principle. And yet… “Some parts of the Flip puzzle closely resemble POP,” Noud explains. “Take the double flat-box magazines: when the robot empties one magazine, it gives a signal and switches to the other magazine, while we refill the first one. The line never stops.”
Love of a challenge
With Flip, Noud and his fellow engineers realized a custom solution similar to Origami, POP and many other projects. “The pressure can be overwhelming at times,” Noud admits, “because you’re always fighting to meet the client’s expectations. It’s a challenge, and that’s exactly what we love about it.”
A sight for sore eyes
The environmentally friendly packaging has now been on the shelves for quite some time. “Have I ever seen them? You bet I have,” Noud smiles. “Whenever my girlfriend and I go on a road trip and stop at a gas station, I always walk past the candy aisle. And they’re always there, without fail. It’ll never stop being a sight for sore eyes: I love seeing the tangible end product of something that was once little more than a sketch.”
Blog series about the Omron Viper robots:
> Blog: Seventeen Omron Viper robots, destination: Oss
> Blog: The puzzle never ends at the Vetico Innovation Center
