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Fluid Fill, Assemble, and Packing System

Fluid Fill, Assemble, and Packing System

SITUATION

The customer wanted to expand its fill, assembly, and packaging operations beyond a slower, unpredictable manual process. The new line needed a design throughput of 275 vials per minute, with case-handling sized to support two lines for a combined 550 vials per minute.

SOLUTION

Big Sky Engineering built the following fill, assembly, and case-packing line:
Bulb Placing- Four operators transfer bulbs from incoming cases onto pucks on the puck conveyors.
Dunnage Out-Feed- Empty trays move out on the dunnage out-feed conveyor once bulbs are removed.
Filling Machine- Fills each bulb with fluid and inserts the cap and wick before the bulb moves to the laser marker.
Vortex Cooler- Self-sustained coolers keep the conveyor cool through the heat tunnel with minimal operator intervention.
Shrink Band Dual Unwinder- Supplies shrink band material to the sleeve applicator, with sensors that flag low material or maintenance needs.
Tamper-Evident Band Application- Applies shrink band material to the bulbs.
Heat Tunnel- Heats the shrink-wrap material to form it around the bulb and cap.
Reject Stations- Verify part presence at multiple points along the conveyor and divert rejects to dedicated stations.
Elastitag Application- Two applicators per line pick tags from the matrix and place them on bottlenecks, with automatic roll splicing for zero downtime.
Inspect and Reject- Vision inspection confirms the cap, shrink sleeve, and elastic are present on each assembly and diverts incomplete units to a combined reject/QC zone.
Case Forming- Erects and tapes the bottom of each case continuously for the partition inserter.
Partition Inserter- Fanuc M-10 robots pick and insert partitions into the erected cases.
Manual Case Packing- Up to six operators per side pick assemblies from the pucks and place them into case partitions.
Case Sealing & Labeling- Seals up to 15 cases per minute and prints and applies the product ID label to each case.
Puck Transfer Conveyors- Return empty pucks via elevated conveyors to the bulb placing station.

DESIGN FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS

  • Tamper-evident shrink band applicator
  • Heat tunnel
  • Elastitag applicator
  • Inspection system
  • Return conveyors
  • Allen-Bradley PLC control package and HMI
  • Print-and-apply label applicator
  • Robotic partition inserter
  • Integrated filling machine
  • Powered roller ZPA case conveyors
  • Fanuc M-10 robots