Robopac: Enhancing Productivity and Reducing Costs with IoT
Applicable Industries
- Equipment & Machinery
- Packaging
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Structural Health Monitoring
- Time Sensitive Networking
About The Customer
Robopac is a company of Aetnagroup and is recognized as the global leader in the stretch wrapping industry. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of semi-automatic and automatic stretch wrapping equipment. Robopac combines technology, innovation, and experience to deliver products that offer reliable results. Aetnagroup’s seven brands — Robopac, Robopac Sistemi, Dimac, Prasmatic, IMSB, Rotac, and Toptier — offer complete lines of innovative stretch wrapping systems, bundlers, shrink wrappers, boxing systems, and tape machines. The company is based in San Marino and operates in the packaging industry.
The Challenge
Robopac, a leading designer and manufacturer of stretch wrapping machines, was facing a significant challenge with its existing product, Rotowrap. The product was constructed as a metal box with numerous welding seams, which posed potential reliability issues during the rotation of the wrapping arm. The complex design of the Rotowrap was also more costly than competitors’ products. The company was under pressure to develop a new product that was of higher quality, performance, and reliability, but at a lower cost. The challenge was not only to innovate but also to ensure that the new product was more durable and less costly than the existing one to maintain competitiveness in the industry.
The Solution
To overcome the challenge, Robopac engineers turned to ANSYS solutions to explore the design space and focus on structural robustness. They used ANSYS Mechanical for both static and dynamic analysis and ANSYS SpaceClaim to model geometries for product design optimization. This approach allowed them to significantly improve the structural strength of the new wrapping machine by substituting metal tubes for the welded metal plates. The result was closed structures that have more resistance to twisting forces. Transient analysis enabled them to calculate forces and torques during machine start-up and emergency stopping — both critical phases for mechanical stress — especially near welding seams. This innovative approach led to the development of a more robust and productive stretch wrapping machine in a shorter time and at a lower cost.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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