Lifting lock stock and robots for relocation
May 1st 2008 The Barr & Paatz automated
workcell was designed and
built for W T Henley in 1993,
and the advanced robotic
production line has been running
reliably since then. Recently the
entire installation was lifted, lock,
stock and robots, by one of the
country's biggest mobile cranes,
and transported by low-loader to
its new home in Belvedere, Kent.
The W T Henley installation was
one of Barr & Paatz' earliest
projects. It involved two 6-axis
Mitsubishi articulated robots,
pneumatic pick & place units from
Festo, vibratory bowl feeders from
Aylesbury Automation, an Allen-
Bradley human-machine interface
(HMI), and a Bosch conveyor
system. When W T Henley
announced its relocation from
Gravesend to Belvedere, moving
the cut-outs production line
represented a critical stage, and it
was vital that downtime was kept to
a minimum.
"Over the years, Barr & Paatz
have always managed to come up
with a solution and we've been
pleased with what they've done for
us," says W T Henley's Process
Engineer, Chris Robinson. "Initially
they estimated six weeks, given the
size of the undertaking, but in the
end they were closer to six days."
Barr & Paatz' solution was to move
the entire line, measuring 3.5m x
6m and weighing around 2t, in one
piece, by pre-building a steel
framework and fitting it underneath
the whole assembly. Having
stripped down the control systems
and removed some ancillary
components, the whole line could
be craned intact out of the
building. It is now running again
with its sub-frame should Henley
ever wish to move it again! More articles from Barr & Paatz: | 
