High-Speed Solution assembles, packs diagnostic test kits.
Press Release Summary:
Custom-made, end-to-end solution assembles diagnostic test kits, visually inspects them, and loads completed test kits into trays at rates to 45 test kits/min. Solution integrates material handling, product feeding, and packaging equipment as well as automated pick and place modules, multi-axis FANUC robots, vision, and inspection tools. Complete system integrates bowl feeders with low-profile flat belt conveyors, puck carrier, automated reel feeders, and cutters.
Original Press Release:
End-to-End Solution for High Speed Diagnostic Test Kit Assembly and Packaging
April 2008, Blacksburg, VA - ESS Technologies, Inc., has custom designed and built a complete end-to-end solution for the high speed assembly and packaging of diagnostic test kits. The system integrates material handling, product feeding and packaging equipment, and incorporates automated pick and place modules, multi-axis FANUC robots, vision, and inspection.
The system assembles diagnostic test kits, visually inspects them, and loads completed test kits into trays at a rate of 45 test kits per minute. The complete system integrates bowl feeders with low profile flat belt conveyors, which deliver the cassette tops and bottoms to pick-and-place devices. A puck carrier moves the cassette top around the indexing machine. Automated reel feeders, cutters and vacuum pick-and-place devices place a piece of reactive membrane in the top cassette in the correct orientation. The bottom cassette piece is conveyed and picked in the same manner as the top cassette, and the two pieces are pressed together. The completed test kit is rotated 180° to allow a vision system to verify correct placement of the reactive membrane. Incorrect test kits are rejected prior to loading into trays using the TaskMate(TM) Robotic System.
Within the loading system, conveyors move empty trays in and full trays out. A FANUC LR Mate 100iC robot with a quick change ESS-designed end effecter removes completed test kits from the assembly machine and places them in a tray. As the assembled test kit moves to the packaging process, the full trays are unloaded using a second FANUC robot and TaskMate(TM) System, which is also integrated with conveyors for automated full-tray-infeed and empty-tray-discharge through the robotic loading cell. This second robotic loading system incorporates a Model 430iC, which uses FANUC's integrated vision and line tracking to pick assembled test kits from the tray and place them into a continuous motion flow wrapper infeed. The test kit is collated with a moisture-absorbing desiccant pack and pouched to complete the packaging process.
About ESS Technologies, Inc.
ESS Technologies, Inc., founded in 1993, specializes in complete packaging line design, manufacture, and integration. Our product expertise includes monoblock fillers/cappers, robotic palletizing systems, horizontal/vertical cartoners, horizontal/vertical case packers, tube fillers, overwrappers, custom designed solutions, and integrated robotics. Engineered for reliability and efficiency, ESS Technologies' products offer you tomorrow's packaging technology today.
Contact Information
Kim Norris
ESS Technologies, Inc.
3160 State Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 961-5716
knorris@esstechnologies.com
