The challenge

Ganahl needed a solution that simplified line changeovers, avoiding manual resetting, which cost time and effort for each new part. The old solution also required a lot of space and hardware since each bottle required its own bowl feeder. Furthermore, Ganahl faced issues with high reject rates and poor process stability.

The solution

Ganahl opted for Omron‘s eCobra robot, which is set to gradually replace the noisy and inflexible vibratory feeders. The new solution allows products to be easily changed several times a day. In addition, the device is equipped with a camera that automatically detects the position of the parts and feeds them correctly one-by-one to the machine.

The eCobra robot feeds the machine up to 2,500 bottles per hour. Its working radius is 600 mm. Omron‘s NX1 modular machine controller provides flow, motion and information control. It combines the operation technology from the areas of production with IT, and reduces the development and maintenance costs, making middleware unnecessary. Thanks to the Omron system, Ganahl can operate much faster and more flexibly than before.

"When implementing complex jobs, we count on reliable machines and tools combined with comprehensive process knowledge. Our customers benefit from high process reliability and quality. Parts feeding during hot stamping is usually loud and inflexible. We have been able to greatly improve this with the solution from Omron and JKS," says Ralph-Christian Frank, CEO of Ganahl AG.

About Ganahl AG

As a member of the Heinz Plastics Group, Swiss-based Ganahl AG produces more than 300 million bottles, containers and jars each year, for anything from yoghurt drinks to nasal drops. The containers produced by Ganahl AG are sometimes hot-stamped, and used for example in the cosmetics industry for high-quality make-up and personal care products. Other applications are in the dietary supplement and pharmaceutical industry.

Ganahl is specialized in the production of bottles, containers and jars with a capacity of 1.5 ml to 250 ml in all conventional thermoplastic resins, while ensuring the highest possible quality. To achieve this, they use injection blow molding machines (IBM) and blow moulding tools that are developed and manufactured in-house, as well as the eCobra Scara robots from Omron. Omron’s integration partner JKS Engineering AG, a full-service provider from design to production of production facilities, provided expert advice for the implementation.