ARTEK Robotics - beyond the boundaries.
ARTEK uses industrial robots not only as replacement for traditional cubing solutions, based on portal crane styled cubing stations. The advantage of industrial robots grows with the complexity of the cubing process, therefore we show a sample in this section in which we solved the layer remodelling and cubing task by means of an industrial robot.
Many different applications are possible, like pallet buffering in former unbuffered pallet return systems, or the integration of other lines, such as surface treatment, splitting, sealing ... if you are looking for such a solution, do not hesitate to contact us.
Flexible Cubing Solutions
Industrial Robots replace traditional cubings stations based on portal cranes basically in all plants, at a comparable level of investment. This is the general rule for your decision: the efficiency of robotics solutions grows with the complexity of the cubing process. This application picture illustrates this. To stabilize the cube, the layers must be turned by 7 degrees alternately. For traditional cubers a problem, for robots a few lines of programming code.
Layer remodelling and cubing
Many producers of hollow or pumice blocks wish to ship the end products without pallets, to reduce the expenses of the transportation. To enable the loading to and the unloading from the trucks the leave empty rows in the second lowest layer, so that a forklift can lift this cube, if it is vertically strapped. The producers must do this either manually, very often neglecting safety considerations, or with systems of pushers and conveyors, which are limited to few block dimensions. ARTEK has developed a fully automatic solution based on a robot (video).
Extended Options - Shipping Pallets
This is an example, how a robot can extend the cubing options. The customer wants to transport certain type of products with shipping pallets. The robot can achieve this with the same grabbing tool, and keeping up with the plant cycle. No complicated additional equipment is needed, beside a small electrical conveyor, transporting piles of pallets into the protected working area of the robot.
Layer Turning Table
Vertical straps can damage the edges of the outer blocks of the top layer of a cube, and as a consequence, the straps lose their tension and the whole cube becomes instable. As the bottom side of the blocks is closed and the edges are more strong, turning of the top layer can avoid this problem. This is very often done manually. The integrated layer turning device, developed by ARTEK, solves this problem, safe for the operators, safe for the product and the process.
Customized Grabbing Tools
ARTEK designs and produces the necessary grabbing tools ("clamps"), fitting to your cubing process and end products. The clamps are operated with pressured air cylinders, a kind of energy, which is available in every concrete elements factory. If the variety of the products and/or the process demands this, exchangeable tools can be used. Have you ever tried to change a clamp system at a traditional cubing station?
Plant Integration
We solve the integration of the robot and additional equipment to the plant automation, independent, whether the plant is new or existing. The robot is equipped with its own control system, and we add a user friendly operator interface, sensor controlled connection to the dry line, the product cube transport and the strapping machine. Plus mechanical equipment, like tables or conveyors. And of course the cubing program, as the "intelligence" of the whole system.