Caps two bottles a second

A Fanuc M-1iA Delta Arm robot has recently been commissioned on a bottling line at the Guadalix, Spain, facility of pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck.

Placing dispenser caps on to bottled allergy medications, the M- 1ia is capable of operating at 120 cycles per minute.

Integrated by Fanuc systems partner Tecnomecánica, the M-1iA needed no special clean room compliance as the caps are placed on to filled and sealed bottles - the final operation before packing.

A spiral conveyor on the robot cell lines up dispenser caps on a rail and a nylon worm drive positions bottles alongside. The robot grips a cap and places it on the bottle, which has previously been sealed by a screwon cap. A simple encoder supplies the position data.

The M-1iA signals the worm drive to position the next bottle. A cylinder arrangement after the robot cell firmly presses the dispenser caps down onto the bottles.

The capped bottles are then conveyed to the packaging machine.