Handling trays on chocolate machines

Details MTF Technik Hardy Schürfeld GmbH & Co. KG

Task: Conveying and handling trays after chocolate production

Hollow body molds are produced on a chocolate machine

The chocolate products are removed by a robot at a cycle time of approximately 4 seconds and placed into provided, empty trays. Alternatively, individual products can be placed directly on a conveyor belt (without a tray).

The filled trays or individual products should be checked for possible contamination by a metal detector. If metal is detected, the affected tray/product should be automatically ejected.

The trays/products are then made available to manual packing stations. There, the trays/products are manually removed from the conveyor belt along an approximately 30-meter-long conveyor line. The emptied trays are manually placed back on the conveyor line.

At the end of the packing stations, the emptied trays should be returned to the starting point on a second level and made available again at the loading station

Solution: Parallel lifting stations with conveyor belt system and metal detector

Two vertical tray transfer units with upstream separation stations, consisting of double-chain-guided parallel lifting stations with a horizontal transfer unit. The total stroke between the lower and upper levels is 460 mm and allows for the intermediate storage of trays.

Filling conveyor belt with metal detector and separation station. Due to the required sensitivity, the metal detector is designed as a closed tunnel metal detector.

Pneumatic separation and provision station for trays in the filling position

Completely enclosed discharge station with connected roller conveyor for metal-contaminated trays or discharge hopper for contaminated individual products

Conveyor belt transfers with rolling knife edge Ø8mm to enable transport of unpackaged products without tray

Tray separation station before entering the vertical tray converters

Complete control technology including interface to the higher-level control of the chocolate machine

Preliminary acceptance including complete range of functions at MTF Technik

Example videos

Details MTF Technik Hardy Schürfeld GmbH & Co. KG