Automation Innovations for the Tissue sector
Bill Nelson, VP Market Development - Hygienic Products, Americas, Elettric 80 North America
The tissue sector is no different to other industries in its skepticism towards change. This does not mean that change does not occur, but innovation within the industry is mostly measured in small increments rather than giant steps. However, the reality is that the companies which have the foresight to introduce new technologies and ways of working tend to outperform their competitors. Change is predominantly good, but can be difficult to embrace…
As a specialist provider of end-of-line automation solutions, Elettric 80 (E80) recognizes that two key drivers for our clients are the need for increased competitiveness and greater profitability. This is why we continually look to improve our proposition and develop custom applications that solve specific needs. To date, this has been the foundation of our success in the North American tissue market.
As greater demands are placed on the tissue industry to deliver product at a lower cost, more pressure is placed on plant distribution systems to handle increased Stock Keeping Unit (SKU), manage inventories more efficiently and reduce cost which is directly attributable to the distribution centre. As a result, suppliers to the tissue industry strive to make advances in equipment i.e. rapid change-over, new unwind stands, higher cycle rates.
Undoubtedly, this focus on hardware creates added value and 2007 was certainly a watershed year for E80 as we introduced three new products to North America; the Dragon palletizing robot islands for display pack pallets, a system which addresses the tissue industry’s requirement for high-speed palletizing and cost effective flexibility; the Elephant LGV system which uses clamps to handle parent reels, thus minimizing the risk of damage through the end-of-line process; and the Wolf, a clamp LGV that handles finished goods for storage.
Moreover, the platform from which we have built our success in North America has been our ability to use robotic and LGV technologies as the tools for change and highly developed software know-how as the driver.
Display Pallets – Show off your product
Many tissue manufacturers require a display ready automation solution due to the demands placed on them by major retailers and supermarkets. The small footprint of the Dragon makes it ideal for updating existing lines if a client requires display ready products.
The Dragon system is really three robots in one. The system has an intelligent in-feed system that separates and groups packs entering one-by-one, from one or multiple packaging lines. Once the packs are grouped by the in-feed separation system, each pallet layer is formed by a specially designed gantry robot system. Finally, the layers are stacked by a Fanuc robot.
The software that drives the Dragon allows the operator to visually select each product configuration through a PC interface. Product change-over, new product configuration set-up and troubleshooting are also performed through the same operator interface.
The Dragon system is specifically designed to handle the output of the fastest rewinding and packaging lines and can be closely coupled to any packaging stream, whether a wrapper or a bundler. The Dragon’s efficient packaging capabilities permit its end users to save money on packaging costs, while not sacrificing efficiency or speed of their production lines.
Since its launch, over 60 Dragon display palletizers have been deployed worldwide. However, every market is different and for North America we have developed a hybrid Dragon which is capable of handling not only small packs and bundles but also case-packed product.
Parent Roll Management – Reduce waste and manage your roll turn-over
In 2007, E80 completed its first North American installation of the Elephant parent roll LGV whose function is to manage the roll inventory and supply product to the converting complex. The success of the European launch of the Elephant led us to introduce the new technology to the North American market and towards the end of the year the first installation was complete. The system included the following features:
• Pick parent reels at discharge of paper machine;
• Deliver parent reels to warehouse and manage inventory in FIFO by row; and
• Pick reels for warehouse and deliver them in matched set to rewinders upon request from converting operators.
• Manage warehouse inventory through E80 custom WMS interface
The success of this project is predicated on the timely pick up and delivery of reels while also reducing damage caused by the manual reel handling process. The initial feedback from the customer indicates that our system has greatly reduced the previous damage done to reels by excessive clamp pressure and clamp truck drivers rubbing clamps against reels in the warehouse.
As part of the system, we developed reel management software and a vehicle guidance system which permits multiple LGVs to navigate on multiple floors, while stacking reels two levels high in the warehouse and delivering them beside each rewinder. Our system tracks roll characteristics and provides a complete inventory count in real time for use by paper making and converting planners.
Our customer has confirmed that the amount of paper stripped from each reel for converting has been greatly reduced, in some instances to only one wrap around reel. Our calculations indicate that the LGV will pay for itself within one year due to the savings in waste paper alone.
Finished Goods Management – The Wolf keeps your house in order
LGVs which handle finished goods are nothing new. However, the depth and scope of the tasks handled have been greatly increased due to our expertise in Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). E80 has developed its own WMS which works alongside and integrates with many existing WMS or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. This means that the existing WMS requires minimal change and any additional WMS functionality required for the automation process can be easily integrated with the help of E80 software.
The standard WMS software modules are frequently tailored to a specific requirement and, due to our industry experience, will be intelligently programmed to cope with seasonal variations or cycles within a warehouse or production area.
The WMS software design incorporates product location, quantity, size, and order information to determine where to stock, where to pick, and in what sequence to perform these operations. Housekeeping functions and auxiliary transport needs are easily managed by the WMS. A customized Man Machine Interface (MMI) is available in the WMS to provide day-to-day operation of the system.
System set-up is simple. If needed our software can act as the main WMS or be part of a wider bespoke solution. The software is dynamic and scalable and can be configured and integrated into different system environments.
The combination of our new LGV navigation technology, which permits higher speed operation than other technologies, and the WMS software provide a compelling solution for a company which is seeking to reduce product handling costs.
The Wolf is a clamp LGV with programmed variable pressure clamps that gently handle unit loads thus reducing creases in cased product that sometimes causes stack instability in the warehouse.
Some key features of the Wolf/WMS system are:
• Full product tracking from production to shipping dock;
• Variable programmed clamp pressure;
• FIFO-by-row;
• Multi level stacking;
• Prioritization of work orders;
• Quarantine/block sections for quality inspection; and
• Housekeeping and consolidation functions.
This system is capable of handling incoming products from other locations. The final step in this process is staging trailer loads at the shipping dock.
360 Degrees of Safety and Operator Friendliness
E80 equipment is designed to meet CAT III safety requirements. Our LGV systems are proven to be safer than lift trucks. All LGVs are equipped with 360 degrees of coverage by PLS laser scanning safety sensors that detect the presence of people, or other obstacles, and slow or immediately stop the vehicle until the obstacle has passed.
This safety sensing system that protects personnel also eliminates damage done by lift trucks to buildings, conveyors or other fixed objects in the plant.
Innovation Never Stops
E80 is investing aggressively to push automation into new areas. For tissue makers this means new applications, better system designs and greater efficiency. In the last twelve months, E80 have been investing in expanding its manufacturing facilities, recruiting highly specialized technical personnel and launching new service centers in the Americas, Europe and Oceania.
Automation has undeniably proven to be the key to increasing competitiveness in a tough market. Whatever the requirement, E80 can offer a solution for all material movement in a modern tissue plant and with our simulation capabilities we are able to fine tune the design to match each customer’s specific requirement, well before the system goes live.