Injection-moulded clamping star wheels in Krones bottlers save setup times

• What was needed: Clamps as injection moulding special part made of iglidur® RN367, roller and plain bearing made of iglidur® X (for program overview: plain bearing made of iglidur® X), sliding foils made of iglidur® E7 for the linear movements
• Requirements: As little wear as possible in contact with glass, durability, resistance to chemical cleaning, hygienic design
• Industry: Beverage bottling plants
• Success for the customer: Thanks to newly developed grippers made of the durable material iglidur® X, changeover times are minimised and the efficiency of bottling plants is increased.

While bottle transport around the fillers in the Krones lines was previously realised with pocket stars, a new solution is now being introduced. Why? If different bottle shapes or sizes are used, the bottle starwheels' tools have had to be retooled up to now. Such an exchange, which is usually carried out once a day in bottling plants, takes around 2 hours: There is immense potential for optimisation here.
The objective was therefore obvious: to realise a universal gripping mechanism that can safely transport bottles of different sizes and shapes to their destination. To realise the trade show, Krones AG was faced with the task of finding a material for the grippers that was suitable for bottling plants, as well as the right rollers and plain bearings for the mechanism.

The answer for the realisation of the new gripping mechanism: a new clamp developed by Krones, which is based on completely new materials, among other things. The grippers, for example, are made of the material RN367, which was developed for the special challenges of bottle handling (see Fig. 1). The material not only minimises wear in contact with glass. Hygienic design and chemical cleaning requirements were also taken into account during development. This keeps the germ load on the grippers as low as possible.
The support rollers at the back of the clamps and the plain bearings are made of iglidur® X, which is also suitable for chemical cleaning, has a low coefficient of friction and allows long maintenance-free use (see Figures 2 and 3). Last but not least, drylin® R sliding foils made of the material iglidur® E7 are used for the linear movement of the clamps, which are attached to the carousel via springs (see image 4).
However, the new grippers have even more advantages. Thanks to the universal solution and the durability of the solution, replacement and changeover parts are saved, and a whole 2.5 tonnes of material are eliminated.
And the market response ultimately speaks for itself: the customer enquiries for Krones arrived so quickly that they first had to be slowed down.