PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2017

PACKAGING / PALLETISING PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 04/17 www.petpla.net 36 Decentralised packing machine processes beer bottles made of glass and PET without the need for changes One machine does it all Based on an articly be Gunthart Mau, trade press officer SEW-Eurodrive The speciality beer “Mohren Pfiff” is, alongside the traditionally brewed “Mohren Spezial”, one of the flagships of the Austrian Mohren brewery. With its sparkling “Pfiff” [Whistle] in the eye-catching rustic glass bottle, in 1990 the Mohren brewery went down a new route as one of the first fillers in Austria. Around 20 years later, the brewery decided to offer “Pfiff” in a light- weight, unbreakable PET bottle as well, with a closing device which, unlike a crown cap, has no sharp edges and can be opened without a bottle opener. To produce this advantage in the packaging with precision however represented a challenge for head brewer Ralf Freitag. The so-called “Easy Open Cap” from the Austrian packing specialist Alpla has a really long flap on the side. From a handling point of view, this is a challenge, because the bottle neck differs sig- nificantly from the usual glass bot- tles because of this “attachment”. The specifications for modern- ising parts of the equipment there- fore went to the engineers at RST Automatisierungstechnik GmbH in Barbing, Germany: the packing clamps had to be able to handle bottles with the PET closing device as well as all other types of bottle at the brewery, including glass bot- tles which have a swing-top clos- ing device. “We had to design the packing clamps in such a way that they can go further down the bottle neck than usual” is how head brewer Ralf Freitag describes the task they passed on to RST. For their part, RST Automatisierungstechnik, under the leadership of managing director Rupert Hadersbeck, designed the appropriate vacuum gripping clamps and delivered a four-head packer which can handle various bottle shapes without any mod- ifications. Using vacuum technology, each individual pack is lifted into the crates carefully and safely. 4 x 20 bot- tles are moved in one operation – with a drive technology which meets the Austrian clients’ ecologically-orientated energy management. Energy-efficient motors The decentralised packing machine in the “Europac” line is appropriately fitted with efficient Movigear drive motors from SEW- Eurodrive. Massive modular belts for moving the crates in and out are moved by the compact mechatronic units. The enclosed and improved overall system of motor, drives and control electronics achieves a high level of efficiency so the drives in the whole series meet efficiency class IE4. Up to 50% of energy can be saved compared to other drive solu- tions. Other electro-motors and drives from SEW-Eurodrive operate in the decentralised packing machine. A bevel-wheel geared motor with inte- grated encoder moves the centring frame, which fixes the drinks crates during filling and centres the bottles on the box compartments. The two- axle robot portal is positioned pre- cisely and quickly by CMP servo-drive motors. Over 32,000 bottles per hour can pass through the four-head pack- The Mohren brewery in Dornbirn, Austria, produces many types of beer which are filled into multi-use, one-off, swing- top and PET bottles. Four years ago, the brewery ordered a decentralised packing machine from RST Automatisierung- stechnik in Barbing, Germany. It has improved gripping clamps and can process the widest variety of beer bottles. The compact Movigear drive units from SEW-Eurodrive form the backbone of the plant’s transport areas. The long flap on the side, the “Easy Open Cap” represents a challenge for handling. (Photo: Mohren Brewery)