Parts feed optimised for hot stamping

From mascara bottles to drinking yoghurt: Swiss company Ganahl AG produces more than 300 million bottles, containers and jars every year. The supplier relies on injection blow moulding machines developed and manufactured in-house (IBM) as well as blow moulding tools and the eCobra Scara robots from the automation experts at Omron.

Companies that want to stay ahead of the competition need to embrace changed Customer, market and production requirements quickly and adaptably at all times. This also includes conversions and modifications to production and packaging systems.

Ganahl AG, based in Volketswil, Switzerland, is an expert in the production of containers, bottles and jars with a capacity of 1.5 to 250 millilitres made from all common thermoplastics. The company's international customers are active in various markets.

High process reliability and quality

Ganahl products are manufactured around the clock on 27 IBM machines. 160 tools can be used flexibly, which enables a high degree of adaptability in machine utilisation.

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„When realising complex tasks, we rely on reliable machines and tools in combination with comprehensive process knowledge. Part feeding in hot stamping is usually noisy and inflexible. This has changed with the solution from Omron,“ explains Ralph-Christian Frank, CEO of Ganahl AG.

Integration partner JKS Engineering AG provided the technical advice for this project.

Complete package convinces in the selection process

The project managers at Ganahl first came into contact with Omron's technologies and devices at the Hannover Messe 2018: „We described our requirements and received an answer within a few hours. At the same time, we were JKS recommended as a partner. We were very impressed by both the technology and the speedy support,“ explains Frank.

[infotext icon]Omron Corporation, with its European headquarters in Hoofddorp (Netherlands), is a global leader in the field of automation. Its key technologies are sensors, control systems and artificial intelligence. http://www.omron.com [/infotext]

The various hollow bodies have so far had to be prepared in a jogger: The bottles are then positioned in a suitable orientation so that they can be printed reliably and correctly by the machine. The vibrators - large vessels that vibrate continuously and therefore work loudly - are designed separately for each article.

During the selection process, the project managers at Ganahl compared four system providers and five robot manufacturers. „The willingness and flexibility to deal with our requirements and wishes was clearly greatest at Omron,“ says Frank.

„For example, we have Feasibility studies with around ten Ganahl products to test and show how we can support the company in the best possible way,“ explains Bruno Meister, Field Sales Engineer Automation and Drives at Omron.

Cooperation at eye level

The automation and project goals were very ambitious. A new type of robot cell was to go into operation in around five months. Ganahl was able to rely on an experienced contact partner for all questions relating to the overall solution, both in terms of the robot and in terms of operation, drive technology and safety.

„We have developed a design for Ganahl based on Omron technology for Universal robot cells that can be used again and again. The first system was delivered to the customer within a few months,“ says Jürg Schulthess, CEO of JKS Engineering AG.

Less effort required for retrofitting

The eCobra robots from Omron is intended to gradually replace the noisy and inflexible vibrators. The device is equipped with a camerat, which automatically recognises the position of the parts and feeds them correctly and individually to the machine. In the past, manual changeover for each new part took a lot of time and effort. Product changes are now possible several times a day without any problems.

The devices that Ganahl used before Omron's technology were also significantly more prone to errors, rejects were higher and process stability was lower. The modular machine controller from Omron's NX1 series offers sequence, motion control and information functions. It combines the areas of production and IT, reduces development and maintenance costs and makes middleware superfluous.

Robot works more gently and accurately

Thanks to the Omron system, Ganahl can operate much faster and more flexibly than before. Different bottles can be fed into the machine more efficiently. In the new process, only the recipe needs to be adjusted if a new bottle is to be fed. The precision with which the Omron robot grips the individual parts and feeds them into the machine was also impressive.

"The The surface of the bottles is sensitive. A vibrator or an unsuitable robot arm can quickly cause scratches or other damage. This must of course be avoided. Individual picking with the robot is much gentler,“ explains Meister.

With the help of a simple gripper, Ganahl picks each individual item from a large number of items without first mixing them up and then places them immediately and gently on the conveyor belt.

Pilot project for 7/24

The eCobra robot from Omron is currently working on a pilot project at Ganahl. Based on the positive experience, however, the project managers want to expand the use of the device in the future so that the system can Run 24 hours a day could. The company would like to utilise further Omron systems in the coming years.

„We had very High demands on quality and design. We are therefore delighted that they could be realised so well. Customers who have already seen this system are also very interested,“ summarises Ralph-Christian Frank.

[infotext icon]The vials, which are produced by Ganahl AG, a member of the Heinz Plastics Group, produced and sometimes hot-stamped, are used in the cosmetics industry, for example, as containers for high-quality mascara, lip gloss and other care products. Other areas of application include the food supplement and pharmaceutical industries. http://www.ganahl.ch [/infotext]