Transfer Beam for High-Speed Packing

High-Speed Packing Lines often need to transfer product or pack from a machine that indexes to a machine that moves continuously, such as a cartoner.  Often the packaging machines are linked with a continuously moving, pocketed, conveyor that feeds the product from the indexing machine to the continuously moving machine.

Here, we have used MechDesigner to model a Transfer Beam.  The Beam would have up to 14 Vacuum Sucker Cups on it - here I have shown three. The Product is loaded using another Vacuum Sucker Cup tool that picks and places the product from another part of the machine. Only one tool is shown but there would be as many as there Vacuum cups on the Beam. The Beam then rotates, before it is then accelerated to match the velocity of the moving conveyor beneath (not shown) where it transfers the product by releasing the vacuum.

	Motion Design of 'Translating' Beam. The 3D animation shows the Transfer beam.  You can see that the beam 'Translates', technically: all points on it it follow the same X-Y Planar Path. Before MechDesigner, the motion design for the beam was designed by the OEM at the two rocker outputs of the cam-box. Attempts were made to ensure the beam matched the velocity of the conveyor during the transfer. These attempts failed.  It is near impossible to obtain a constant velocity at the beam while the angle of the two rockers are changing. Read more >>>
	'J-Cam' - a Stationary Cam Design This is another mechanism that the machine needs a cam and follower design.  The main cam used to drive the mechanism left to right sliding motion is simply 'thrown in'.  That is not reviewed here.  The 'J-Cam' is used to rotate the Vacuum Sucker Cup by 90º.  The 'J-Cam' is a Fixed and a Stationary Cam.  The cam is NOT designed by inserting a 'J-Shape'. You would do this in SolidWorks® or other CAD software that doesn't have at its core motion design for mechanisms. Read more >>>
	Transfer Beam : Answer The Path of the Transfer Beam - sometimes called Planar Motion or Trajectory Motion Design - of the product was designed directly using MotionDesigner.  The Mechanism is then added. And, finally the Cam and Cam Followers are added. MechDesigner manages the inverse kinematics automatically so that cams are added automatically for you. Read more >>>