Whether it's a shipping tube or winding core, retail packaging for food or even a firework rocket: at a manufacturer of paper tubes and winding cores, production organization was hampered by limited storage space and increasing lack of room. Bito stepped in with LEO flow.
AlbrechtEger recently discovered the urgent need to digitize its production processes and make them more efficient within the available space through automation tailored to the workflows. The company supplies customers worldwide with a broad product range – from the food to the cosmetics industry.
Changing requirements
Precision is essential in the production of paper tubes and winding cores, especially since the company also manufactures customized solutions. To address and meet the diverse and ever-changing requirements of customers and market developments, high flexibility and rapid process adaptation are crucial in production.
Naturally, the existing cost pressure also demands an efficient and resource-conserving production process. LEO flow now supports the optimization and digitalization of processes in the manufacturing sector. The driverless transport system ensures greater transparency, efficiency, and increased competitiveness because it relies on future-proof technologies.
Photos: Rödiger
The AGV is based on the LEO Transporter standard and is equipped with driven wheels and a belt conveyor. This enables the lateral loading and unloading of containers and cartons. Since the LEO flow Transporter is also available as a flexible, automatically height-adjustable version, different heights of production machines, storage areas, and conveyor systems can be easily bridged and compensated for.
Height adjustable
The high four-minute cycle time per machine in the manufacturer's production process demands correspondingly high precision in material flow and reliable processes. To achieve this, each production machine was assigned a LEO flow transporter. The AGV waits at the machine until a carton is filled with the produced paper tubes and winding cores. The driverless system then automatically transports the full carton to the palletizing conveyor for palletizing.
The LEO transporter then drives to the empty carton buffer to pick up a new, empty carton, transport it to the production machine, and place it there for filling. Since each machine typically works with different carton sizes, a separate empty container conveyor was set up for each production machine as a transport route between the machine, palletizing system, and empty container buffer.
Processes clearly structured
LEO flow optimizes the entire intralogistics process with a continuous, automated, highly precise, and reliable material flow. Automating manual processes makes all workflows more efficient and reduces error rates. All machines are supplied with both empty and full cartons at close intervals. Digital control ensures clearly structured processes.
“We have largely replaced manual work with automation and can therefore offer reliable safety in terms of the repeatability of the parts”summarizes Managing Director Viktor Epp.
