60 tons of bricks per day thanks to simplified palletizing plan
BONY SAS has been manufacturing refractory products since 1862. Having previously automated the palletizing process for pre-fired refractory bricks, the company has further optimized this process using KUKA.FlexPal, an intuitive software package for creating palletizing plans.
Automation for efficient brick production
In the production plants, it is the furnaces that set the pace: BONY SAS’s brick firing line works on the just-in-time principle. The decision to automate the palletizing process for the moldings was a means of matching production precisely to the furnace output. The solution with two KUKA palletizing robots, implemented first in 2002 and then in 2013, empowered the manufacturer to fully leverage automation and achieve its goals.
Refractory bricks manufactured by BONY SAS are used, among other things, for the construction of industrial furnaces.
Palletizing plans made easy: palletizing without the need for programming skills
Palletizing plan for each scenario: Mono-palletizing (identical products on pallet), rainbow palletizing (different products on pallet, identical products in each layer), palletizing of individual stations and multi-line systems as well as customer-specific depalletizing with integrated 3D image processing.
Upgraded technology for greater efficiency: KUKA provides buyback offer
In 2021, BONY SAS decided to replace one of the two robots. Because of its age, maintenance was difficult due to the dwindling stock of spare parts. Together with KUKA, the French company invested in a new generation of robots, equipped with the latest in cutting-edge technology. Wear and tear is a natural phenomenon. KUKA offers a corresponding solution to support its customers: an offer to buy back the old generation in exchange for a credit note to finance a new purchase.
Facing a unique challenge, BONY SAS required a simple and intuitive solution for their brick palletizing process. With one robot from an older generation and another newly acquired—and no dedicated robot technician on their team—the need for a simple, user-friendly system was paramount. KUKA mastered the challenge with flying colors: the simple and intuitive KUKA.FlexPal palletizing software perfectly met the specific requirements of the French manufacturer of molded refractory products.
KUKA.FlexPal software enables optimal palletizing and naturally takes into account additional customer-specific expansions in order to palletize large quantities in a short time.
Simple configuration, maximum production: 60 tons of bricks per day
With the installation of the new robot and KUKA.FlexPal palletizing software, BONY SAS has boosted its production to 60 tons of refractory bricks per day. This advancement ensures the company’s long-term profitability and operational autonomy, as employees have fully mastered both the software and the manufacturing process after just a one-week training course. Freed from manual tasks, the workforce can now focus on more technical responsibilities.
This upgrade has not only increased brick production but also enhanced the company's attractiveness, strengthening its reputation among customers and future employees alike.
Advantages of automatic palletizing with KUKA.FlexPal
Easy to use - safe to operate. The palletizing software is the result of years of experience in the field of robotic palletizing. The setup of KUKA.FlexPal was completed during the integration of the robot at BONY SAS to ensure that the software is optimally adapted to the practical challenges. Employees do not need software and programming skills. Thanks to its intuitive user interface and easy-to-understand 3D environment, KUKA.FlexPal can also be operated by beginners.
The user-friendly KUKA.FlexPal palletizing software offers every user autonomy and full program control.
The KUKA.FlexPal palletizing software offers absolute flexibility. The individual dimensions of parts, grippers and pallets defined according to the specific requirements can be imported directly from 3D simulation files. The refractory concrete blocks are fragile and come in many different shapes. KUKA.FlexPal offers the option of configuring a palletizing plan for each shape, aligning the gripper and using the multi-drop functionality. This way, even fragile parts with different shapes can be handled without problems.
Best possible configuration of a pallet with a KUKA palletizer: Here, multi-drop palletizing for different shapes is achieved.
