Robot-based palletising cell
A collaboration between motion control and robotics specialists YASKAWA and a leading intralogistics and packaging company has resulted in the development of an automatic robot-based palletising cell.
MPS Food Logistics Systems based in the Netherlands received an enquiry from a major meat processing company in Germany who were looking for a robotic cell for palletising packed meats at the end of a packaging line including the key challenge of integrating the robot in the specified PLC environment.
Specifically the application required that the robot should be able to be programmed and controlled directly via the Siemens TIA (Totally Integrated Automation) portal without having to pass through the robot controller first.
By using Yaskawa's MotoLogix interface generation with its Profinet capability, MPS Food Logistic Systems has enabled a Motoman MH225 palletising robot from Yaskawa to be integrated directly in a Siemens automation environment. The benefits of two high-performance systems are thus combined; the convenient programming of robots directly via the programmable logic controller (PLC) and the high level of precision offered by the DX200 robot controller. This makes it possible to program Motoman robots in the current IEC-61131 environment and to integrate them in corresponding systems.