Fill and Assembly Machine
Customer dispensing system need
The Customer needed a machine to automatically fill and assemble their dispenser product. There were numerous different liquids used, with multiple change-overs each day. Fill levels ranged from approximately 7 ml to 30 ml.
The goal for this machine was to automatically clean, fill, prime, cap, label, and add packaging components.
McClellan was asked to develop, design, manufacture, debug, and install a world-class automated dispensing system to meet the requirements of the Client’s project, with the following design goals:
- A robust and efficient machine design, appropriate to long term duty and world-class efficiency
- A relatively open spacious design on the work surface to allow for easy maintenance
- Guarded appropriately to meet or exceed safety standards
- Designed to fill multiple volumes ranging from 6.8 ml to 26.8 ml
- Integrated fume exhaust over part of the dial
- Machine cycle rate is 15 parts/minute
McClellan machine design solution/features
McClellan designed a Fill and Assembly Machine…
- Mounted on a stainless steel tubular frame
- Consisted of a rotary dial mounted on a high-quality 16 stop rotary indexer. An advantage to the rotary design is that it makes it feasible for (1) operator to run the machine (load and unload parts).
- The nests allow the product to be held in two orientations.
- Safety interlocked doors allow easy access to all frequently changed items (tubing, labels, etc.).
- Operator interface includes a color touch screen.
- This machine offers a feature that allows the operator to disable any station (where appropriate).
- Due to the possibility of up 10 change-overs per day, change times were kept to a minimum.
Benefits of McClellan Automation Solution
- Minimized risk and time to startup by prototyping difficult processes such as priming the dispenser. McClellan was able to prove and disprove several concepts for this process.
- McClellan understood the customer’s needs for reducing operation cost by researching several options to apply a chemical resistant barcode label.
- McClellan increased speed, accuracy, and repeatability of liquid filling reducing the customer’s waste and increasing profits.
- McClellan was able to identify several quality issues with the customer’s raw parts and provide guidance to corrective action.
- McClellan continues to provide support with customer’s machine optimization processes.
