The Metsä Wood ‘Hunter’ woodshavings go to the equestrian market where they are used for bedding in stables across the country. And, at the Boston site, it is the responsibility of a new Kawasaki robot to ensure that the shavings are removed and ready for dispatch.
Once the loose shavings have been collated into bales using bespoke machinery, they are removed from the line by the robot and placed directly onto a 1200mm x 1200mm pallet ready for dispatch. To ensure that the load is stable, the robot must also rotate the bales through 90° as it stacks, a task performed whilst transiting from pick-up to deposit.
The new robot, which was installed in August 2019, is a Kawasaki CP180L with associated HMI, which replaced an older robot, also a Kawasaki unit (ZD130) that was originally installed at the plant in 2002.
Metsä Wood project manager Andrew Burns says: “Our records revealed that the Kawasaki robot installed in 2002 had completed 10,794,000 cycles, and it had performed superbly. We valued its reliability coupled with Kawasaki Robotics’ responsiveness and professional engineering approach. When we wanted a replacement for it in August 2019 there was only one place to go – Kawasaki - for another robot to last us the next 20 years or so.”
In a typical working day, around 1,000 25kg bales are picked off the line and stacked using the necessary orientation changes programmed into the new robot.
According to Mick Middleditch of Higham Ferrers based RJC Projects, removing the old robot and placing the new one onto its plinth was straightforward. The installation, integration and programming of the newly installed CP180L was then undertaken by KTM Systems of Liverpool. KTM director Peter Mason says: “Our team set to work the moment RJC had placed the new machine in position and we had the new robot installed, programmed and commissioned well inside the stipulated window.”