Speed, Accuracy, Hands-Off Operation, End-to-End
VMI’s VPT system deals with one of the biggest obstacles to automation
Batch-Offs are often seen as simple pieces of technology. Hot rubber compound comes out of the Mixer, is formed out as a slab and then cooled in the Batch-Off, ready for further use. VMI has already introduced systems to simplify and accelerate this process, such as the closed air circulation system, which reduces pollution and improves working conditions.
Yet rubber will always need to be cooled and then moved through the production plant to the right place for next stage work. That might be for further mixing (a master batch, processed into a final compound with very specific characteristics through addition of chemicals at high temperature), or it could mean into storage, or even directly for onward transport to a client site.
Where the rubber goes, therefore, depends on its future use- but rubber slabs coming out of the Batch-Off will always need to be taken somewhere. How can we simplify this process, take time and cost out of the process and reduce the need for skilled human labour (which is increasingly hard to find in most markets)?
VMI’s proven Vertical Pallet Transport (VPT) system is one of the answers.
Moving up: in many- if not most- production facilities, a master batch is made first, and then back to the Mixer room for further processing. That means moving the slabs of cooled rubber to a higher level (normally moving up by around 7 metres) to the Mixer room, where the slabs are mixed with the appropriate chemicals to produce the final compound.
Getting the heavy slabs of rubber up to the Mixer room is a very laborious task as a rule- but this doesn’t have to be the case once you start to work with the VPT system. This provides an elevator that takes the rubber slabs exactly to where they need to go, without a single human touch point. One operator can supervise the entire process, usually with no need for intervention, because the compound recipe determines every action. The process is automated and the operator does no more than check smooth running of the solution.
High volume: VPT system can handle not just a single line coming from the Batch-Off but two, if there is enough volume to justify it. That means even a very large-scale manufacturer can automate transport of master batches to the Mixer with outstanding efficiency, coordinating movement of rubber slabs from two Batch-Offs to a single VPT system. The cost savings from this approach are significant.
Hands-off: the VMI strategy is always to automate further and faster than before, and the VPT system is a classic example of this approach. The route taken by the rubber slabs is determined by the recipe defined for the specific products being manufactured. If the recipe requires extra mixing, then the slabs are routed automatically to the VPT system for transport to the Mixer level – where further automated systems will ensure that the right chemicals are added.
When the recipe defines the process as complete, then a conveyor system can take the slabs to storage or to a transport hub for onward moving to external client sites. The process can be automated as well by using an Automated Guide Vehicle (AGV), which provides a true end to end, hands-off approach.
Why does it matter?
Let’s summarise what VMI’s VPT system offers and see how this adds value right across the rubber production process:
Perhaps the greatest advantage that manufacturers notice, once they start working with the VPT system, is the reduced level of operator attention needed to bring the loaded pallets to their final destination. The route taken is determined by the recipe defined for the specific products being manufactured. VPT brings completely new levels of automation and security to logistic handling of pallets.
VMI’s VPT is a game changer for rubber factory intralogistics. By greatly reducing labor-intensive pallet handling, it makes a real contribution to enhanced profitability.
The world runs on rubber. The rubber industry depends on more advanced and high-performing compounds, and rubber producers need to make their processes faster, more accurate and efficient than ever.
At VMI, helping the rubber industry set new standards and become more profitable is our mission.
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