Handled crates

A system developed by Campetella Robotic Center for handling fruit and vegetable crates includes a belt conveyor, a pad printer, and a robot with vertical stroke driven by a brushless motor. The production cycle involves the following steps: the injection moulded crate falls onto the belt conveyor and is transported to the pad printer, which is equipped with one or two printing heads; the robot picks the crate from the belt conveyor and places it appropriately for decoration; if the crate has to be decorated on two sides, the robot rotates it by 180°; after printing, the crate is placed back on the belt conveyor by the robot and transported to the stacking unit.

The process cycle time is between 6 and 7 sec, according to the time required by injection moulding.