One system, two functions: the WaveHandling modular conveyor belt can transport and simultaneously sort objects without the need for an additional handling unit. A large number of pneumatic bellows modules deform the surface so that the objects are conveyed in a targeted manner by a wave movement. Our Bionic Learning Network is providing new momentum for the automation of tomorrow with this work.
Without tides and wind, the sea would be as smooth as glass. However, if the wind blows over the smooth surface of the water, the first small waves appear and these grow into large waves due to further air influences. The water does not move from place to place in the sea, though. Water molecules within a wave only move up and down in a circular path, but in principle, they always remain in the same location. Nevertheless, the wave rolls over the surface of the sea.
A similar thing happens with the WaveHandling. As each individual bellows just moves in and out at its location, a wave moves over the surface of the conveyor. The WaveHandling is also flat at first. When compressed air is applied to one or more bellows, the first wave crest is formed. An object that was previously at that point begins to roll down the wave until it stops at the next wave crest in front of it. This allows the system to form a wave crest that moves across the entire field and pushes the material being transported in front of it in a targeted manner.
The individual modules can be added and put together in any way and can configure themselves. This means that the system can be commissioned quickly and is available for a wide variety of configurations without any programming effort. Thanks to the integrated sorting function, an additional handling unit is no longer essential.
The WaveHandling system is already showing how system configuration can be performed by the individual modules themselves in the future. Previously time-consuming work steps such as manual adjustment and programming are no longer necessary due to the decentralised intelligence of the components.
The platform could conceivably be used in the food industry when sensitive objects such as fruit and vegetables need to be transported independently and sorted for further processing. The WaveHandling system could be used in the centre of a facility to distribute the relevant goods on to the following conveyor path on the left and right. The principle of self-configuration creates new prospects anywhere that subsystems are expected to be immediately and flexibly integrated in the production process.