Ready to brew

Schneider Packaging, a producer of end-of-line case packing and palletizing equipment was recently named the winner of the 2006 Rockwell Automation Extreme Machines contest.

The company was chosen from a pool of contestants based on the innovation it demonstrated in developing its next generation of machines.

Schneider packaging used Rockwell Automation control system solutions to create an end-of line robotic handling system for a premium coffee roaster. The machine cartons, labels, case packs and palletizes 280 individual K-cups of ready-to-brew coffee each minute, all within a mere 300 square feet of valuable factory real estate.

To deliver big performance in a small space, Schneider Packaging relied on Allen-Bradley Ultra 3000 servo drives and MPL motors to operate the two side-by-side timing screws that count the appropriate numbers of cups for each carton.

Another Ultra-3000 drive operates a rotary cartoner, while a series of air cylinders agitate the carton to allow the K-cups to settle properly in the box. The cartons are sealed, dated and arranged for the casing robot, which assembles and presents the cases to a labeller before loading them onto a pallet.