Installation at DAYS

Bulk bag aggregates – RMGroup have this week completed three installations at Southampton for Days Aggregates, consisting of two independent packaging lines and a Bulk Bagging System. One of which is a fully automated system that integrates a Vertical Form Fill & Seal machine with conveying to an ABB IRB 460 Palletising Robot.

The ABB palletising robot installed is the fastest in the world, 15 per cent faster than its closest rival capable of an impressive 1,500 cycles per hour. The robot is aided in its palletising by a range of varying conveyors, consisting of a Rumble Roller, Bag Flattener, Pacing Conveyor and a Pickup Conveyor.  As well as the conveyors a Pallet Magazine was added, combined they ensure a constant feed of empty pallets and filled bags to the efficient ABB 460 robot. The automated system is fed by a 20 tonne hopper located externally in close proximity to the aggregate stores, the aggregate is then transferred inside to the FFS machine via an in-feed conveyor which is then weighed to a set weighment and deposited and sealed within a branded bag formed by the FFS machine ready to be sold to suppliers.

The fully automated system fitted at Days Aggregates is capable of running at approximately 18 to 20 bags per minute requiring minimal human interaction. Both the robot and the Form Fill and Seal machine are controlled through touch screen systems that allow the controller to monitor and make changes to the system as and when required.

The second installed line consists of a Manual Bagging system, RMGroup’s MB-500 Manual Bagger, a system capable of speeds of up to 600 bags per hour. This system is controlled by an operator who holds the bag to the system’s pneumatic bag clamp and releases the pre weighed product when ready, once filled the bags are then conveyed to a Saxon 5 bag sealer for heat sealing and then continue to a second ABB IRB 460 palletising robot. This manual bagging system is fed by a 10 tonne hopper also located externally. Both systems have pallet accumulation that send the stacked pallets outside to be collected via a forklift or telehandler ready for distribution around the country.

As well as these lines Days Aggregates received delivery of our latest Bulk Bagging System the BB-400, this system consists of a large 20 tonne hopper which feeds onto a large in-feed conveyor that fills the BB-400 electronic weighment system that accurately weighs the product ready for dispensing into a Bulk Bag positioned with a fork lift truck. Once in place the operator starts the filling process by using the supplied key fob which releases the product into the bulk bag. Having the bag filled on the forklift truck’s forks also helps speed up the process by simplifying transfer from filling equipment to awaiting wagons or storage facility.

The BB-400 is our fastest bulk bagging system to date, capable of 3 bulk bags per minute and able to refill to weighment in only 17 seconds. So impressed with their newly installed systems Days Aggregates have since ordered three further BB-400 Bulk Baggers to be installed at various packaging facilities they own.