The task.
Before now, having been cut on the band saw line, the top layers had to be manually sorted on to stacks. This laborious task was in need of optimization and/or automation. Once the conditions had been inspected and analyzed, the design phase could begin. The aim was to develop a concept that would take into account the different top layers and de-stack a wide range of stack heights and lengths automatically. The stacking unit needed to integrate into the existing system layout as efficiently as possible.
The implementation.
The top layer stacking unit selected for this was integrated into the overall system immediately after the band saw line and the top layer sorting section, and de-stacks the six top layers packages positioned next to each other. The packages are individually pushed off a roller conveyor by mechanical actuators on to dispensing forks and then de-stacked on a transport carriage with a lifting table.
Before now, this step of the process was done manually and has now been automated by VAP-WINTERSTEIGER with the four stacking stations.
TILLY Holzindustrie, a long-term WINTERSTEIGER customer, was able to further optimize the efficiency of its multilayer wood board production in Althofen, Carinthia, using the solution. “We are extremely satisfied with the system that WINTERSTEIGER designed and supplied, and have increased the efficiency in our natural wood board production facility thanks to the automatic stacking unit. It was especially important for us to relieve the strain on our staff,” says a satisfied CEO Mario Wagner.