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Handling of tiles
 
Starting point / Task definition
 

At its Autenried II plant near Günzburg, Germany, CREATON was looking to modernize the production line for its “MAGNUM” series of mega-sized tiles. This line can produce up to 60 tonnes of clay roof tiles per minute, and is used to manufacture pantiles and fitting elements. Previously this area involved manual operations. At that time each operator had to lift roof tiles weighing a total of 1.5 tonnes per day. This task was now to be automated.
 
 
Implementation / Solution
 
Handling of tiles
Handling of tiles

Today, handling of the pantiles is carried out by five KUKA KR 125/3 six-axis robots. One of the robots unloads four dried roof tiles at a time from dry-item carriers, which move to the pickup position on conveyor belts. In the next step, if required by the variant being produced, the pantiles are engobed, a finishing process which creates a matte appearance. Then a further KR 125/3 places four roof tiles per cycle in the same number of H-shaped trays, which CREATON uses as kiln furniture. The tunnel kiln carriages, which move through the 1,055 °C kiln with the trays loaded with roof tiles, are loaded and unloaded using lifting gear. Then the third robot takes four of the fired roof tiles from their H trays and places them on a conveyor. This conveyor takes the tiles to the next two KR 125/3s, which work as a pair for optimal performance. Each of these six-axis robots uses a pivoted end-effector to pick up two roof tiles and to place one tile on each of two conveyors, which are installed to the right and left of the infeed conveyor system. Working together, the two robots stack four tiles into mini-packages, which are then automatically palletized. If, instead of roof tiles, the line is producing fitting elements, the KR 125/3s always handle only one part per cycle. The operator can select the appropriate program quickly and easily by means of the control panel of the KUKA robot controller, with its familiar Windows human/machine interface.
 
 
System components / Scope of supply
 

  • Five KUKA KR 125/3 robots
  • Five PC-based KUKA robot controllers, including control panel with Windows interface
  • Various grippers
  • Robot programming
  • Handling and conveyor equipment
  • H tray equipment for the drying and kiln systems
  • Commissioning

Supplied by the KUKA systems partner Hans Lingl Anlagenbau und Verfahrenstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Neu-Ulm, Germany

 
 
Results / Success
 

  • Flexibility

    The robots and their pneumatically-driven grippers are especially notable for their flexibility. The KR 125/3s can use their grippers to handle the pantiles and up to ten different formats of fitting element. To enable this, each KR 125/3 uses two end-effectors, exchanging them automatically as needed. The entire system can be reconfigured within 15 minutes; for the robots themselves even less time would be required.


  • High repeatability

    The repeatability of the robots is high enough that they can carry out positioning to within a millimeter when loading the H trays.


  • A more worker-friendly environment

    The employees no longer have to manually move loads weighing 1.5 tonnes per day per person.


  • High cost-effectiveness

    This capital investment enables CREATON to produce higher-quality products with greater cost-effectiveness. For example, measured by the square meter, the company has been able to more than double its manufacturing productivity.
 
 
 
 
 
Number of report
 
R 219
 
Industry
 
Ceramics, mineral products
Construction
 
Application
 
Handling, loading and unloading
Other handling operations
 
Product
 
Robots
High payloads (80-270 kg)
Controller
KR C (Robot Controller)
 
Customer
 
CREATON AG, Autenried, Germany
 

 
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