EastPack pallet strapping conveyor

Year: 2016
Client: EastPack / Compac
Location: Te-Puke

Project Outline:

Thomson Group was called in urgently because EastPack had a big upgrade underway in the packing plant in Te-Puke EastPack and needed the pallet strapping conveyor and system designed and programmed. The project was to take the final stacked pallets and be able to select a strapping sequence and also be able to stack up to 5 pallets. Once the pallets reached the strapper the strapping sequence was passed onto the strapper to carry out the strapping sequence.

The Solution:

The solution was a fully automated conveying system that stacked pallets where placed on by a forklift and a strapping sequence was selected. Once the sequence was selected the pallet would be conveyed to the strapper for strapping. The system was designed to be able to stack and store up to 5 pallets in line and their respective sequence that were selected for them via an HMI display. Once the strapper was completed the pallet would be moved out to the next position for inspection and labelling by an operator. Once the operator was completed the operator would let the PLC know via a switch and the conveyor would move the pallet on to a holding bay for the forklift to pick up and move on. The system was also designed to be able to stack 4 pallets in line behind each other waiting for removal. The system was operated by a Sick safety controller for all the light curtains and e-stops and a Schneider PLC and HMI for controlling the pallet conveying strapper system.