Automatic Inline Strapping Machine with Robot Bearer Placer and Corner Applicator

FROMM Packaging Solution

FROMM engineered a strapping system which put three operations into the one machine meaning a more consistent approach to the unitising process. With sensors to detect the incoming product, a timber bearer ( of the correct width) is picked by robot and placed in preparation to go under the pack. At the same time, top cardboard protection corners are placed and then the strap drives around consolidation the protective cardboard and the bearer to secure the pack.

The robot bearer picker has become very popular with FROMM customers as it replaces the potential risk of injury from a person doing such a function multiple times per day. The palletised bearers are simply placed into a safe zone and then the robot finds the bearers automatically.

With this high level of automation, packs are processed around the 65 seconds including the conveying movement.

The customer wanted to remove the manual lifting process of changing around 200 strap coils per month. FROMM Packaging engineered new automated strap dispensers and moved to  SUPER jumbo 16,000m strapping coils reducing downtime between each coil change. The strap remains on the transport pallet and placed onto a turntable that then feeds the strap to the strapping machines as needed. The system requires virtually no human interaction and alarms are in place to indicate when the strap coils need to be changed.

Overall this new Automated Strapping Line included the following features:

• Automated FROMM strapping head
• Robot to be able to pick bearers and place underneath the blocks
• Top cardboard corners to protect the concrete edges from strap damage
• A super jumbo strap dispenser to use the FROMM 300KG rolls this eliminating and human risk of injury

FROMM Packaging Australia installed a full safety system with light curtains and fencing to ensure the machine operates in a safe environment

This installation was designed by the FROMM Packaging Australia team and was installed during the factory build and commissioning phase.

This new strapping system has eliminated the heavy lifting between each strap coil change and associated WH&S issues for changing coils and the robotic arm has enabled one worker to focus on other tasks in the new warehouse facility.  

Installation Gallery