Compact filling system: COSSMA

Schubert develops a compact filling system with cobots for cosmetics manufacturer Börlind.  All process steps, from setting up the containers to filling and capping, take place fully  automatically and with a high degree of flexibility in an extremely compact space. The  packaging components are fed in by Schubert cobots.

photo: Gerhad Schubert GmbH; Schubert demonstrates just how compact a filling process can be with a system designed for cosmetics manufacturer Börlind.

The Annemarie Börlind brand is known for a very extensive product range with many different formats which makes the filling of cosmetic products a unique challenge. The company needed a new system with a high output density and a high degree of automation. Börlind also wanted the machine design to be compact to minimise the ecological footprint. The natural cosmetics manufacturer found the perfect partner with Gerhard Schubert GmbH, who succeeded in meeting all requirements with an innovative TLM Power Compact system.At Börlind’s production facilities, the wide and very diverse range of natural care products for face, body and hair, which all contain plant extracts from organic cultivation and the company’s own deep spring water, without using any animal extracts, are filled into glass bottles, plastic bottles and glass jars with different types of closures and caps. In addition to cosmetics with varying consistencies and viscosities, there are also two-phase products whereby, for example, an oil-containing and a water-containing part need to remain visually separate from each other, as well as formulations containing alcohol.

This required the new system to be designed in accordance with the ATEX explosion protection directive for ‘pure’ or alcohol-containing products. Börlind also wanted the cream jars to be checked for glass breakage before the actual filling process. This is essential to ensure that the film for sealing and protecting the cosmetics can be precisely applied to the glass rim of the jars. The filling system features a hygienic design and can be cleaned in place (CIP) in a circular or continuous process without requiring prior dismantling. Despite the simultaneous processing of different cosmetic jars and bottles on a single system, the requirement was to keep the costs for changing format parts low. As a manufacturer of natural cosmetics, sustainability was also a key issue for Börlind, which is why the company favoured a very compact design.

New TLM filling line: High performance in the smallest of spaces

Schubert met Börlind’s diverse requirements with an innovative and fully automatic TLM filling line. The glass jars, glass bottles or plastic bottles are blown out, checked, filled with the liquid cosmetics, closed and sealed with a variety of pump systems and lids – all in the smallest of spaces. The space-saving design is enabled by a recently developed multi-transport unit (MTA), which transfers the products from one station to the next during the packaging process. The compact machine layout is named as a key factor for the ecological footprint, as it allows energy consumption to be kept lower than with large-scale linear systems.The individual components of all packaging formats are fed by three tog.519 cobots, so the automation begins upstream of the machine and supports the line’s high output density of up to 60 products per minute. The customised 3D-printed format tools, which Börlind can reprint in its own facilities using Schubert’s “Partbox” system, similarly to all other format parts on the line, ensure a secure grip, and enable new formats to be available quickly and cost-effectively. The modular machine concept also provides significant benefits, as additional process steps can be added directly to the filling line. For example, the labelling of the filled and sealed cosmetic packaging as well as the final packaging can be integrated into one complete line.

photo: Gerhad Schubert GmbH; The AI supported cobot handles all packaging parts at the cosmetics line infeed without requiring any programming or start-up phase, for example these glass bottles.

The connecting element in the process: the new multi-transport unit

On the new filling line, the three different packaging components – bottles/jars, pumps/caps and overcaps – can be fed either as bulk goods or in compartmental cardboard trays. The fed components are reliably recognised, oriented and transferred to the Schubert multi-transport system (MTA) thanks to the cobots which are equipped with AI-supported image processing developed by Schubert. The robots are trained to accept variable sizes, materials, surfaces or thicknesses within a product group – and require virtually no training phase. In the next step, the bottles or jars are blown out, cleaned and checked for glass breakage. An F2 robot then places them onto a weighing cell to determine the net weight and places the bottles once again onto the MTA, which transports the bottles or jars to the two filling stations. There, the cosmetic containers are dynamically filled by means of eccentric pumps. The two filling stations work independently of each other. This means that cleaning and filling can take place in parallel, or both fillers can fill at the same time, which is the case with 2-phase products, for example. An F2 robot then seals, presses or screws lids onto the bottles or jars, after which they are aligned by camera, weighed again and labelled either all around or on their front or back. After labelling, the bottles or jars are given a bottom print with an identification number, which is checked by a camera. Finally, the filled cosmetics containers run through a labelling check and are then rotated 90 degrees by a 5-axis robot and placed into a chain that takes them to the packaging station with the secondary packaging.

photo: Gerhard Schubert GmbH; In spite of its exceptionally compact design, the new TLM Power Compact system delivers high power density in the smallest of spaces and processes a wide range of different formats.

Conclusion

With the new filling line, Börlind is now well positioned to face the fierce competition and fast-moving trends that characterise today’s cosmetics industry. Developing such a compact system was a first for Schubert.