News Releases

June 2005

Technologies with tender touch but tenacious grip improve palletising and processing.

Expanding ranges of advanced pneumatic bottling, packaging and palletising systems from Europe and the USA are being introduced to Australia by industrial actuation and isolation specialists Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd.

Tough but highly flexible Pronal MC and ML grippers are made from hot vulcanised elastomer coated fabrics engineered in France for high reliability and grip in dealing with a wide variety of bottled food and beverages.

Firestone's AirPicker® and AirGripper® end-effectors, meanwhile, are precision-engineered rubber product handling devices, the bladders of which inflate gently and evenly to manipulate delicate products or containers.

Both systems are eminently suited to high-speed bottling, packaging and palletising, offering a degree of touch or sensitivity lacking in many mechanical or automated systems, says Air Springs Supply National Sales Manager Mr Simon Agar.

Pronal grippers are typically used in multiple banks of gripping lengths configured to user requirements. Available in standard sizes of 1230mm and 1460mm, special lengths are available on request as part of Pronal's expanding range, for which Air Springs Supply is national distributor.

The grippers' strength and tenacity is combined with a soft touch to accommodate minor variations in bottle positioning during rapid movement, enhancing their use in modern high speed production lines. This makes the grippers highly compatible with rapid automated bottling and packaging systems, says Mr Agar.

Firestone's Airpicker and Airgripper system handles loads from as light as 50g to as heavy as 20kg or more. AirPickers work by being inserted into products while deflated, then inflated outwardly and evenly to hold onto the product's interior walls. AirGrippers surround a product with a collar from which a rubber sleeve is inflated inwardly to grip the product's exterior.

This cushioned transporting can help eliminate damage, breakage, and other processing problems, with the end effectors being designed and manufactured by Firestone to inflate evenly, producing a wide, shock-absorbing and slip-free contact surface for sure movement.

The large expansion of the inflating end-effectors allows for multiple part sizes to be handled with just one size model.  The diameter of an AirPicker end effector can grow by as much as 1.86 times the deflated diameter, while an AirGripper end-effector can grip around an object that is only 40 per cent of the deflated diameter.

By controlling the amount of pressure within the bladder, Firestone end-effectors can handle delicate objects with the soft touch of rubber and air. The holding force is distributed over a greater surface area than a mechanical gripper, resulting in a soft and secure touch, even with heavy loads.

AirPicker and AirGripper engineering manuals give product specifications and selection criteria, including details of an expanded range of more than a dozen pickers and grippers in materials including stainless steel, plated steel and aluminium.

Cutaway of the Firestone Airpicker® (schematic)
 

Suitable for use with plastic and glass bottles used for a wide range of foodstuffs and beverages, the Pronal range now includes short neck MCC or MLC models to accommodate some complex bottle or flask shapes. A tailor-made half-inflatable range is especially adapted to the latest generation of bottles.

For more information about Air Springs Supply's national distribution and technical support network, please contact Air Springs Supply Pty Ltd, 137 Bowden St, Meadowbank, Sydney 2114, ph (02) 9807 4077, fax (02) 9807 6979, sales@airsprings.com.au.