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Goldfuß Engineering closes automation gaps

On the way to full automation with the vision of virtually unmanned operation, Goldfuß engineering supplies versatile systems to close the automation gaps that still exist.

On the way to full automation with the vision of virtually unmanned operation, Goldfuß Engineering GmbH wants to close the remaining automation gaps with its systems.

The depth of automation in recent decades has progressed considerably, but usually ends where a manual process still seems to be a matter of course. On the way to full automation Goldfuß Engineering GmbH versatile systems to close the automation gaps that still exist, for example Feeding a hopper with bulk goods or a magazine with folding carton blanksautomated from the pallet supplied by the AGV via the packaging material disposal to the magazine. 

Certainly also due to the inevitable demand in the pharmaceutical market, the focus increasingly shifted to peripheral equipment for filling, inspection and packaging machines in connection with vaccines and liquid medicines. An example of this is the connection of the outlet of a filling machine with an inspection and packaging process operated in a separate room (with changing cleanroom class). Vials with outputs of 300 units or more per minute are laboriously collected in trays and stacked in trolleys at high labour costs in order to unstack them again at the remote downstream process and push them out of the trays.

In this area, Goldfuss has two different solutions to automate processes and significantly reduce labour costs. The first solution covers the entire process from the filling machine outlet to the remote inspection machine. The second solution Automates the feeding of vials from Akylux boxes from the pallet to the turntable or the bi-flow belt.

Display

goldfoot automation

Solution A essentially comprises a trolley that can be used for automation, equipped with drawers and format-dependent magazine inserts. 2R, 6R and 10R vials can already be depicted in the basic version. Sizes such as 20ml, 50ml, etc. can be included as an option. The vials are inserted into the trolley at the outlet of the filling machine and removed from the trolley at the inlet of the inspection machine or packaging machine by a robot. In addition to handling the vials, the robot also opens and closes the drawers. The vials remain lined up throughout the entire process. The robot systems are equipped with floor scanners and can be operated without a mechanical safety enclosure, depending on the space available and the flow of people.

Another application of the trolleys in conjunction with robotic systems is An inline buffer between the inspection machine outlet and the labelling inlet for the purpose of an AQL check. Two trolleys are used, one of which is loaded and one of which is unloaded alternately. The changeover takes place at the end of each partial batch.

As the robotics used can both load and unload both trolleys, it is possible to No need to swap trolleys even across partial batches. If the AQL check shows an excessively high proportion of vials in the bad or grey area, the corresponding trolley can be replaced with an empty one and production can continue. The vials on the trolley removed from the system can be visually inspected in parallel with ongoing production and fed to the inspection machine a second time.

Solution B views the vials as an unsorted group. Without the use of dividers or cavities, the vials are completely free and unsorted in the Akylux tray. The central function is a special gripping system that was newly developed in conjunction with an engineering projectDominic Duda, Lead Technology Solution - Global Engineering, from Takeda.

The automation process starts with the destacking of the Akylux trays from the pallet, supported by a 3D camera system. Even here the special feature that the trays are fitted with a non-fixed lidwhich rules out conventional vacuum picking. This is where the aforementioned gripper is used, which can pick up and place both the vials and the Akylux trays without vacuum technology.

Picking up the vials requires a defined open space in their immediate surroundings. This free space is generated in an intermediate station where the lid is removed and the tray is opened. After depositing the lid in the designated trolley, the gripper system picks up the vials from the Akylux tray, again without the use of vacuum. In the final process step the transfer of the vials to the infeed area of the rotary disc or the bi-flow belt. The empty tray is also fed to the packaging trolley and the next full Akylux tray can be removed from the pallet.

SourceGoldfuß Engineering

Goldfuß Engineering at the interpack 2023: Hall 15, Stand B03

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