Bauke Van den Akker is one of the directors of the engineering firm based in the Netherlands and his colleague Lourens is one of his engineers. Lourens explains that the official name is a "basket loader/unloader" and that this name will also be used for the documentation when this interesting piece of Dutch technology starts its long journey to its destination, the Ivory Coast. This could just as easily have been Indonesia or New Zealand, because Apollo Engineering's clientele operates all across the world.
As the name suggests, this machine is intended for loading and unloading baskets. The baskets are filled with cans with contents that need to be sterilized for extended hygienic storage. This is done under pressure and with steam in an autoclave. When this process is finished, the baskets complete with cans are removed from the autoclave and the cans are unloaded.
Previously, the handling was done manually by the end customer. Each can and its contents weigh roughly one kilogram, and a basket may contain up to 400 cans, stacked in layers with intermediate sheets, depending on the size. The customer believed this arduous process could be automated. Since they had already had positive experiences working with Apollo Engineering, they entrusted them with the challenge. The result was the automated basket loader/unloader.
In the modular machine, the cans are automatically supplied via a conveyor belt. The cans run against a stop and once enough cans are collected for a complete layer, new incoming cans are stopped. The collected layer is then transported until the cans are aligned under an ingeniously concealed magnetic plate. Assisted by Festo pneumatic cylinders for the vertical movement, the magnetic plate picks up the complete layer and places it on an intermediate sheet in the ‘ready’ basket. The can layer is again covered with an intermediate sheet, which is then picked up and deposited using a vacuum. This process is repeated until the basket is full.
The system is equipped with an OVEM vacuum generator for the vacuum handling of the intermediate sheets.The generator actively monitors the vacuum level with a built-in IO-Link® vacuum sensor. The air-saving function switches off the compressed air as soon as the set vacuum level is reached. This keeps compressed air consumption to a minimum, potentially saving up to 80% compared to a standard vacuum generator.
Once the basket is full of cans, it is moved using a chain conveyor. This frees up space for the next basket, which is also supplied. However, this does not yet complete the process of transporting the filled baskets to the autoclave and back again. During the design phase of the project, Apollo Engineering carefully considered this transfer, as dragging a filled basket is quite a heavy job. A solution was also developed for that: an electrically driven cross-brace. The cross-brace is capable of transporting a train of up to five linked baskets from the basket loader/unloader to the autoclave. After the sterilization process, the cross-brace brings the baskets back to the installation.