Flexible and efficient handling of raw wood runners in a strapping system.

Using Piab's Kenos® KVG grippers, Officina Meccanica Sestese SpA designed and manufactured an end-of-line packaging machine installed at a leading company in Southeast Europe, a manufacturer of components for the furniture industry.

Officina Meccanica Sestese's vertical strapping system, model 08L, has been developed to compress, compact and stabilise packages of melamine wood panels. The machine enables the automatic packaging of packs with the possibility of making several bindings with heat-sealing polyester strap with 16 mm width and 0.8-1.0 mm thickness.

The sizess of the packs to be handled vary between a minimum of 60 mm in height to a maximum of 2180 mm in width and 5700 mm in length.

The robust and compact 'modular' strapping head is equipped with all functions to perform the customer's required strapping cycle, with a cycle time between 4 to 7 seconds max.

The machine is equipped with a device able to apply wooden runners above and below the pack, which protect it during strap application. This device is fed by a manipulator consisting of 4 Piab's Kenos® KVG120 grippers, operated via a side channel blower, also supplied by Piab, which allow a layer of raw wood runners to be handled.

From this layer, the single runners are subsequently picked up by further 2 Piab's Kenos® KVG60 grippers, equipped with integrated COAX® vacuum generators, which feed the runner-laying device.

Officina Meccanica Sestese's system is further equipped with remote assistance.

Why Kenos® grippers offered the optimal solution

"Kenos® grippers are the most suitable solution for our process that uses very porous materials. Before adopting these gripping systems, we used suction cups from other manufacturers, which did not guarantee a perfect pick-up. Furthermore, there was a need to replace them frequently in order to handle different formats and different materials. Kenos® grippers, on the other hand, are extremely reliable and flexible, so they always pick up the part and solve the problem of retooling the line. Not only. Kenos® grippers also have a longer service life than suction cups, thanks to the fact that only the technical foam that forms the gripping interface needs to be replaced," says Marco Vicario, Project Engineer at Officina Meccanica Sestese and in charge of this design.

"We have been collaborating with Piab for some time. Thanks to the support that the technicians of the Italian subsidiary are able to provide us, we use Kenos® grippers not only in our standard systems, such as the 08L vertical strapping machine, but also in our customised systems, in order to ensure efficiency, flexibility and precision to our customers," adds Maurizio Alessi, Marketing Manager at Officina Meccanica Sestese.

Advantages of Piab's vacuum gripping systems

Piab's Kenos® KVG vacuum gripping systems are developed to simplify handling processes in many industrial sectors such as wood, ceramics, etc. It is a versatile range designed for handling a wide variety of objects with different shapes, sizes and densities. Most gripping systems can be equipped with integrated vacuum generators or prepared for separate vacuum generation by means of a vane pump or side channel blower. Among the various Kenos® systems available, the KVG model is best suited for the wood industry due to its high adaptability.

Piab's COAX® vacuum generation technology minimises energy consumption while offering safe and fast gripping, due to its high initial vacuum flow. The pump unit can deliver high performance even with low or fluctuating supply pressure. This has been proven in independent comparative tests conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Dresden. These tests showed that PIAB ejectors require significantly less compressed air to achieve the same result as ejectors from other suppliers. Consequently, their use reduces the cost of compressed air supply and thus the total manufacturing cost.

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About Officina Meccanica Sestese SpA

Founded in 1949, the OMS Group is a leading company that designs and manufactures end-of-line secondary packaging machines and systems used in a wide variety of industries.

Reliability, experience and flexibility are three important keys that allow OMS to meet any market requirements, from the simplest strapping machine to the most sophisticated packaging plant.

With a constant focus on new technologies and market needs, all OMS models are designed to interface with the customer's network according to Industry 4.0 protocols, in order to offer innovative and customised solutions to the customers, guaranteeing the best performances and significant cost savings.

In addition to the Italian headquarter based at Paruzzaro in Novara's province, OMS Group has 12 subsidiaries based in Italy, Europe, North and South America, Asia and Oceania and employs more than 250 people worldwide.