Filling systems in the pharmaceutical industry

Profile

• What was needed: triflex R 3D energy chain
• Requirements: high movement loads stressed the cables and led to cable ruptures. The task was to make the handling system operationally safe and also to bring it visually up to date. The number of free-hanging electrical and pneumatic cables should be bundled.
• Industry: medical technology, pharmaceuticals
• Success for the customer: the triflex R guides the countless electrical and pneumatic cables safely and compactly. Due to the round design, the energy supply system slides over the outer contour of the robot and cannot get caught or jammed. Defined minimum bend radii also significantly extend the service life.

Pennekamp uses triflex R for the energy transmission to the axes. igus supplies the complete cable set with connectors, energy chain and mounting brackets as readychain.

Problem

Bayer AG's parenteral medicine plant meets all the requirements for the production of modern medicines. Medicinal products for parenteral use enter the tissue or the bloodstream directly - i.e. bypassing the digestive tract - by injection or infusion. Parenterals are therefore subject to the highest quality requirements, especially with regard to microbial and particulate purity. In the filling area, for example, fully automatic systems are used. After the bottles have been cleaned, sterilised, filled and sealed in various steps, a high-precision pick & place robot is used. It places the filled ampoules or medicine vials pallet by pallet into a lattice box before they go to the inspection, packaging and shipping areas. A robot was used for this operation in the past, but it had outlived its useful life. Due to the stresses, cable breaks occurred time and again. The specific movements that the robot performs place a great deal of stress on the energy cables. The task now was to make the handling system operationally safe and also to bring it up to date visually. The number of free-hanging electrical and pneumatic cables should be bundled.

Solution

The disorderly pile of countless electrical and pneumatic cables could be bundled in a triflex R energy supply system. The entire plant looks compact and clean today, even at first glance. Due to its round design, the energy supply system glides over the outer contour of the robot. It cannot get hooked and jammed in the process. Since the lattice box to be filled is not very large, this is an extremely important point. The energy chain guides the cables with a defined minimum bend radius. The bend radius is the same in all directions.
The triflex system shows its strengths wherever there are movements in more than two directions. These are primarily applications on 6-axis robots, which can be found, for example, in all environments on welding and painting applications, in gluing and grinding technology, but also in the assembly of gearboxes or in screw fastening processes. It is also used in the Scara robot at extremely high speeds. Fibre-rods can be integrated in the triflex R in order to integrate specific preloads. They give the energy supply system a certain alignment and keep it away from interfering edges. With conventional systems, it is partly done by elaborate springs, rope pulleys or guide systems. In addition to the increased space requirement and new interfering edges, these external elements exert further forces on the energy supply system - with all the resulting disadvantages.

The cables within the energy supply system are safely protected and can easily accommodate all movements.

Pick-and-place robots also have very high accelerations due to their high speeds. With triflex R they are safely cushioned.

Work in cleanroom conditions. The white energy supply system supports the "clean impression".