Pick & Place modules are designed for extremely versatile use in all types of industries and production processes.  In addition to packaging operations they can also be used in direct mailing systems, folding and stitching operations where this may be part of the production process.  The units supplied by Friedheim International are highly flexible and can be set up in a number of alternative positions.

With the Pick & Place Basic feeder from Sigma Engineering you can quickly andeasily place cards, bags, samples, credit cards, CDs, coins and three-dimensional products on a principal product, for example on a magazine.
It is a great piece of technology!

The Pick & Place Basic is independently powered and can be installed anywhere above a conveyor track. If desired, it can also be integrated into the controls of the main machine controlling the principal product. The maximum placing speed of the Pick & Place Basic is 12,000 products per hour.

Synchronous motion
The Pick & Place Basic electric motor drives a rotor with suction cups. Each suction cup picks up a product from the magazine in the idling position, and then releases it above the principal product in a rotating motion. The Pick & Place Basic and the production machine run fully synchronised at all times, so the conveyor belt containing the principal products on it does not have to be stopped.

Extremely accurate placement
A shaft encoder on the main track regulates the rotation speed of the Pick & Place Basic rotor. The software calculates the place and time of releasing the product on the basis of information received from a photocell and the speed regulated by an encoder. The Sigma Pick & Place Basic is capable of compensating for any deviations in the spacing.

Countless possible applications
The Pick & Place Basic provides countless application possibilities. Due to its modular design, the feeder can be used above conveyor tracks in combination with other machinery such as gluing equipment, folding machines and different placing equipment.
 

 

 

 

 

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SIGMA PICK & PLACE SERVO
Sigma Engineering’s Pick & Place Servo is the larger version of the Pick & Place Basic. It also allows the easy placement of cards, bags, samples, credit cards, CDs, coins and three-dimensional products onto a principal product extremely quickly, for example onto a magazine.

The Pick & Place Servo is Sigma Engineering's most complete modular machine. It is the fastest feeder available from the company, capable of a production speed of up to 18,000 products per hour. The Pick & Place Servo is independently driven and can be installed above a conveyor track in any place. It can also be integrated into the controls of the main machine if desired. Height and depth can be adjusted by servos controlled by the actuators.

Synchronous motion
The Pick & Place Servo electric motor drives a rotor with suction cups. The suction cup picks up a product from the magazine in idling position, and then releases it above the principal product in a rotating motion. The Pick & Place Servo and the production machine run fully synchronised at all times, so the conveyor belt with the principal products does not have to be stopped.

Extremely accurate placement
A shaft encoder on the main track regulates the rotation speed of the rotor. By doing so, it ensures that the speed of the product on the rotor and the principal product are the same at the time of release. A photocell above the track registers the position of the principal product on the conveyor track. The place and time of releasing the product is calculated on the basis of the information from the photocell and the speed dictated by the pulse generator.

Compensation for spacing deviations
The Sigma Engineering Pick & Place Servo can compensate for deviations in spacing. This way, the feeder will only release a product if the photocell detects one. In practice, a product can be released onto a conveyor track with a spacing that deviates from the nominal spacing of the rotor at the same speed.

Countless possible applications
The Pick & Place Basic provides countless application possibilities. Owing to its modular configuration, the feeder can be used above conveyor tracks in combination with other machinery such as gluing equipment, folding machines and alternative placing equipment.

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SIGMA STREAMFEEDER
he Sigma Streamfeeder, due to its modular design characteristics, can be connected to all Pick & Place feeders that are supplied by the company. No mechanical or electronic modifications are required to create the set-up, which provides a production arrangement that saves a lot of time and effort, as well as increased throughput! Due to its great flexibility it can be optimally set up for any given product format and machine speed.

The Streamfeeder ensures the automatic input of products into the magazine of the Pick & Place feeder. The products are entered into the magazine stacked on an input belt. The activation of the input belt is controlled using adjustable height monitoring of the products in the magazine. The supply speed of the input belt can be set to be step-less if required.

Accurate positioning
The adjustable side guide of the supply belt provides transport to the magazine. In addition, two ‘jogger plates' direct and position the product during input. This means that the products are always under proper pressure in the magazine. The Streamfeeder is mounted on a movable undercarriage, with adjustable legs for proper positioning. The supply belt also has height and width adjustments. If the standard width adjustment is not sufficient, the supply belt can be moved freely over the frame.

Good guiding
A photocell is mounted on the backstop of the magazine for height monitoring. Plastic guide blocks can also be provided. These are mounted to the front and backstops so that products are properly guided. This prevents products from rotating in the magazine during automatic input.
 

VIDEOS
As an experienced and innovative company Sigma Engineering has the know-how to tackle production problems and provide solutions with its Pick & Place feeder technology.

A number of Sigma’s successful project solutions are hereby provided in video format, along with brief descriptions of how each one came to be developed. Our most recent project (Faller), a machine that creates a pre-packed instruction leaflet, is described in more detail.

Faller

Faller (Pharma: pre-packed information leaflet)
This machine folds a velvet wallet and places an information leaflet, with the back facing in the opposite direction, inside. It is then checked for the pharmaceutical barcode and wrapped.

The solution Sigma Engineering devised consists of:
• Main machine with two Pick &Place placement stations
• Infeed belt for the wrapping machines
• Two integrated wrapping machines
• Delivery belt upon which the products are gathered

The main machine has two Pick & Place placement stations. The velvet wallets are first folded and fed through pressure rollers before being placed on the main transport belt. The leaflet is then added at the second station. A barcode scanner checks whether the leaflet is present and if it has the correct barcode (Pharma-code). Both Pick & Place placement stations have an automatic infeed belt.

The composed packages are collected on the infeed belt and then lifted off and slid one by one onto the wrapping machine. After wrapping the packages are graded on a transport belt.

	Project AGI - Sigma Engineering has built a so-called “little book” machine for AGI, with three placement stations, a creasing unit, a double adhesive device and a folding knife with product delivery. Cardboard covers are placed and led through the creasing unit in this machine. It is therefore no longer necessary to die-cut covers. Glue is subsequently applied and the contents are placed at the second station. Another product can be placed with the second adhesive head and the third station if required. The product is folded lengthways with a folding knife at the end of the transport chain. The product is then pushed between the transport belts and the folded product is collected in a product delivery.
	MY-Carton project - This video shows an application where the starting point was a standard Pick & Place Servo on a folder gluer machine. A CD is stuck to the inside of a box so that it can be seen from the outside through a window; for example, on campaign packaging for cornflakes. This set-up also has a stream feeder that evenly feeds the products automatically at a high speed.
	Colordruck E-Card project - The production problem that arose at Colordruck in Salzburg, Austria, was how to pick up, place and fold E-Cards 90º to the direction of feed. Sigma Engineering solved the puzzle by building a special machine for the company consisting of two placement stations, an adhesive device and a cross folding knife. Pre-scored cardboard covers are placed in this machine, the adhesive device applies glue and the contents are positioned. Then the product leaves the transport chain and is folded across by the folding knife. Subsequently the product is collected via the transport belt in a delivery.
	ODS Project - Sigma Engineering has built a completely automated production line for ODS where CDs are transferred from a spindle feed system to the Pick & Place cartridge without human intervention. After the CD has been placed it is 'stuck' with a static charge to the main product so that the precise take-off position is retained throughout the further processes.
	Taro Project - Through innovative applications of our vacuum heads on the rotor, more unusual products can be processed.  A recent example involved blister packaging.  A specific sucker to pick up one pill in a blister package and position it was developed for the Taro pharmaceutical company. The pill lies in the blister on the side that is sucked up. During suction the packaging will fit into a sealed chamber on the modified suction mouth without being damaged. In this manner the product can be placed with the “pill” side pointing upwards.