The application of adhesives for every industry represents only a single stage of the production process in many sectors, as a part of the whole. This is why Meler France team, in collaboration with HMI-MBS and Universal Robots, organized a workshop on its premises to show how cobotics could optimized adhesive application at the end of the line.
Stabilisation of pallets with adhesive...and a cobot
The day's programme included a presentation by the organising companies and a live demonstration in which the attendees, with technical profiles from the aeronautics or automotive industries, were able to see the advantages that a collaborative robot can bring to any adhesive application. Sylvain Pitard, Sales Director of Meler's French subsidiary, and Julien Plault, HMI-MBS sales technician, explained two real use cases of adhesive application in palletizing processes, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 (for webmag readers click on the title to see pictures or at this link).
Captions for Figure 1
1. Automatic application of adhesive on the moving box. / 2. Loading of the box and stacking on the pallet with a COBOT. / 3. Formation of a compact batch ready for transport.
Captions for Figure 2
1. Loading of the goods with a COBOT. / 2. Automatic application of the adhesive on the box hold by COBOT. / 3. Moving and positioning of the goods at another point of the working line.
Production and environmental advantages
The logistics sector has been quick to implement the combination of both technologies: cobotics and adhesive application because of the production benefits they bring to the profitability of the end-of-line. Occupational risks related to loading and transporting goods are reduced (Figure 3 - 1) and operators can focus on higher value-added tasks.
However, the interest in introducing these technologies is not just about cost efficiency and safety. By introducing the application of adhesives, the goal is also to eliminate the use of single-use packaging materials (Figure 3 - 2) and achieve excellent results in the unification of goods. This ecological aspect helps continue to driving companies to change their end-of-line installations.
In addition, the Q&A session allowed attendees to benefit from personalized advice in regards with the implementation of new projects. Sylvain Pitard, Sales Director of Focke Meler France, acknowledges his satisfaction as host: "It is exciting to resume the networking activities that are so typical of a sector like ours, where we always work as a team. It is this type of exchange that makes our commercial activity more valuable and we are also proud to have organized it in our Orléans facilities, which were inaugurated in the middle of the pandemic".
