Brite Solutions - Project Overview

Automated Tea Candle Production System
The entire system consists of six distinct
processes or stations which operate on the parts
as they are moved along by the rotary index table.
The final parts are placed on a labelling conveyor
and presented for use.

Loose cups are sorted and fed via a vibratory
bowl and singulated for presentation to the
vacuum gripper to place it in the fixture.

A rotary magazine driven by a servo motor
positions the wick for pickup by the finger gripper
on the pick and place. The pick and place arm
then moves the wick from the magazine feeder,
and places the wick in the proper position in the
centre of the container.

The flake wax is melted and dispensed into
the cup from the thermostatically controlled
melting tank using a piston pump. The
pump is driven by a pneumatic cylinder, and
is heated with cartridge heaters.

The filled containers pass under fans at
three locations, allowing time for the wax to
solidify. Then the cups pass in front of a
DVT camera to check a horizontal line for
wax, as well as a vertical line test for the
wick.

Finished parts are picked from the fixture
on the index table and placed on the
transfer conveyor. It then passes through the
labelling unit and down to the collection tray.

This pick and place takes the cups from the
index table. If they pass inspection they will
be placed on the conveyor, but if they fail
the cup drops into the reject chute down to a
reject tray below the table.

Using a spool of labels, a servo motor, and
several strategically placed dowels, the
labels are peeled off their backing. As the
cup moves down the conveyor the label
adheres to the cup. The cup is then spun for
full application of the label.

The index table uses a cam drive system, with eight
positions. The fixtures locate and hold the part in
position as it progresses through system.

The fixtures were made using a rapid prototyping
machine. They have a magnet positioned in the
middle of them to locate and hold the steel base of
the wick in the center of the cup.

The electrical systems where all fed off of a 280v 3
phase main supply, and transformed into 24V for the
controls and 120V for various devices. All our 24V
electrical systems were controlled by a safety relay
which was wired into the emergency stops.

Our system was controlled by two Allen-Bradley SLC
5/04 PLCs and a Allen-Bradley PanelView 600
touchscreen. These devices were networked via a
DH+ communications protocol. The servo motors
where controlled by seperate drives which were
independently configured and programmed.