Allpax Retort Room Equipment Overview - Automation and High Speed Processes


Allpax, powered by ProMach, manufactures a complete range of severe duty sterilization and material handling machinery for food, beverage, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical companies. From fully automated retort rooms to individual retort room components, our comprehensive line of turnkey equipment has helped us become one of the world’s leading sterilization solution providers. Our automated batch retort system automates all functions of the retort room with easy-to-use controls and software, removing the complexity that usually accompanies the retort process. We also back our solutions with expert project management and installation from start to finish, full factory acceptance tests and 24/7 support to reduce potential production downtime.

Allpax Automation offers turnkey, single-source solutions for retort room equipment. Allpax offers a variety of automation solutions depending on the container. This solution features cardboard packages being handled at a throughput of 400 packages per minute. The equipment is set up at the Allpax factory as part of a comprehensive factory acceptance test in which all the equipment is integrated before it arrives at your plant to ensure an efficient startup.

This application starts on the loading side, where Allpax automation solutions take control of the package directly from the filler. The system properly orients the container and uses a pick-and-place robot to stage the loaded raw product for retort delivery. Allpax automation features include high-speed servo-controlled laners, custom passive container orientation, and VFD-controlled Slip-Torque conveyors to control back pressure for pick-and-place staging into custom-fabricated trays.

As a certified Level Four Fanuc integrator, Allpax uses a six-axis robot with a custom-engineered end-of-arm tool to serve the dual purpose of accurately placing containers as well as stacking trays. A high-capacity vacuum blower system is used in conjunction with a tight array of suction cups to ensure that pick-and-place efficiency is at the highest level. Allpax is also capable of designing and fabricating custom container trays using injection-molded plastic, aluminum, or stainless steel construction. Basket indexing is automated to guarantee fast basket exchanges and minimize excessive container back pressure. Heavy-duty hydraulic lift tables outfitted with position encoders provide very accurate tray indexing.

Allpax basket conveyors feature heavy-duty stainless steel construction and Allen Bradley variable frequency drives on all motors for unlimited speed and position control. Baskets are delivered to a cart station where the operator initiates a basket transfer. Allpax also offers a variety of automated basket retort delivery systems. Post-retort processing, the unloading cell uses identical equipment to get the job done. This methodology is common on all Allpax automation systems to minimize spare part requirements and simplify the required support and maintenance of the line. This, combined with consistency in our operator interface touch screens and software standards, lowers operational costs for your plant.

To meet the needs of the supplied case packing system, Allpax implemented a solution to rotate the container back to its upright position using a dual-lane gravity slide combined with a servo-controlled pusher. The packages are returned to their original position, merged back into a single lane, and delivered to the downstream packaging equipment. Allpax automation products are designed and built with heavy-duty components, maximum performance flexibility, and commonality of parts to ease maintenance. Our controls use Allen Bradley PLCs backed by strong immediate 24/7 support using virtual private network communication.

For more information on our integrated robot solutions, contact Allpax at www.allpax.com.