The gas cylinder weighing and filling carousel is an 8-station machine equipped with a dedicated loading and unloading manipulator.
Its base frame is in very sturdy electro-welded profiled iron, the rotation mechanisms are composed of solid and well-sized sheets and shaft and excellent quality bearings
Functions performed by the carousel are:
The two data are useful in a high-pressure cylinder production line because, by making their difference, the cylinder capacity is calculated with great precision.
If combined with the GOMG marking line, the two data can be sent to the PLC of the marking machine, so that the electronic numerators present in the marking wheel can automatically mark the empty weight and the specific capacity of each individual cylinder.
The manipulator has three axes and has the purpose of taking the cylinder from the previous tilting roller conveyor and inserting it in the first station of the carousel.
The cylinder is loaded by the manipulator in the first station which only has the function of loading and unloading.
Manipulator’s pliers are universal and can grip any cylinder in the range of products processed by the customer and have double hydraulic cylinders that guarantee a strong and safe grip, even with the heaviest of products and of course, even in motion.
The manipulator is cheaper than a similar robot and is more compact having a limited reach to the service area and therefore does not require very large protected areas.
It is controlled by a PLC so it does not require the intervention of a programmer specialized in robotics in case of maintenance or software changes.
The rotation of the carousel one step at a time is done thanks to a sturdy and precise Maltese cross mechanism complete with a well defined and high quality gear motor
The stations are therefore 8 and have the following functions:
In the GOMG cylinder weighing and filling carousel there are 5 filling stations and each one fills the cylinder by 20% because in this way no bottle necks are created that would occur when filling large cylinders with a single station and thus speeds up the continuous flow of cylinders and thus does not stop the system upstream of the carousel.
The weighings take place with the vertical and suspended cylinder. The weighing takes place thanks to the automatic pneumatic quick coupling system studied by GOMG.
Each balance is equipped with three load cells to optimize measurement accuracy.
Filling takes place automatically thanks to nozzles and pneumatic cylinders and reaching “full” is detected electronically by a flow switch.
Each station is equipped with a pneumatic cylinder with a safety pusher to perfect centering and prevent the cylinders from falling.
The carousel shape is preferable to an in-line one because it is more compact, faster, cheaper and also requires a manipulator with fewer axes.
