StackTeck's automation ventures move into inspection, case-packing

By Karen Hanna 

A company best known for its molds is continuing to make strides into in-mold-labeling (IML) automation, as the labor shortage pushes processors to invest in technology.  

StackTeck, which three years ago made its splash into the automation market, this spring brought a robot to a trade show for the first time; it has also continued to expand its offerings, with launches of vision-inspection and case-packing systems. 

In March at Plastimagen Mexico 2022, StackTeck showed off an IML system paired with a 420-ton Sumitomo (SHI) Demag El-Exis SP injection molding machine (IMM) running a 1x4 cup mold. The cell produced cups designed with StackTeck’s Thin Recess Injection Molding lightweighting technology and featuring a metallic finish and scannable digital watermark. 

The ability to get both the mold and IML automation from the same source is a big plus for customers, said Christopher Day, StackTeck’s GM for Mexico and Latin America, where demand for automation has been heating up.  

“I think we're jumping into this bandwagon, being able to offer that to our customers,” Day said. 

StackTeck is working to create automation that offers a bevy of benefits, including versatility and convenience, said Day and Jordan Robertson, VP of business development and marketing.   

Modularity is important, they said.  

So far, the company uses a single robot frame and standardized robot heads for its IML automation, Robertson said. 

A user could move an IML robot, for example, from an eight-cavity mold to a 16-cavity mold simply by swapping out its end-of-arm tooling, he said.   

“This is an asset that customers will want to be able to continue to use, year after year, as projects come and go, just as we make many features into our molds that enable customers to convert an existing mold from one part to another part and continue to use it long-term,” he said. 

In a virtual meeting with Robertson and Day, the two men played a video displaying some of the company’s most recent work — including an integrated IMDVista visual inspection system supplied by IMD Ltd., Brügg, Switzerland, and a case packing system made by StackTeck.  

StackTeck’s solutions are customized to users’ needs, Robertson said. 

While StackTeck now offers inspection systems, the company also acts as an integrator, when other companies’ technologies prove more appropriate. 

“We can also incorporate all these modules as far as the customer wants to take it,” Day said. 

Case-packing, in particular, has been in demand, Robertson said, because of the issues associated with the labor shortage.  

“There definitely is more interest in that and more investment in that. One hundred percent. Especially you see that in North America,” he said. 

In one case, StackTeck designed stacking automation for a 24-cavity system. 

StackTeck is committed to ensuring its robots are easy to use, Robertson said. 

He cited the example of an Illinois molder that got into IML during the pandemic. 

“We were unable to send a technician,” he said. “And they had never run an IML robot; they had never made an IML part before. And, with us coaching over the phone, they [set] up that robot to their machine, and they were able to perform the integration on their own. They were making IML products on the second day of the integration.” 

While StackTeck has traditionally focused on IML, the company is building out downstream automation options as it plots an automation future that serves both IML and non-IML customers.  

“We're basically building out the range of flexibility that we can offer through ourselves, rather than integrating somebody else's,” Robertson said. 

Currently, StackTeck builds automation for IMMs with clamping forces ranging from 300 to 600 tons.  

But it won’t stop there. 

“We are going to be focused on expanding our product range. For really large machines, over 600 tons in size, that's one area to focus on,” Robertson said. “For machines that are smaller than 300 tons, we have a design on the drawing board that will give us a more compact robot unit that will be more appropriate for a smaller-size machine.” 

Karen Hanna, senior staff reporter

[email protected]

Contact:  

StackTeck Systems Ltd., Brampton, Ontario, 416-749-0880, https://stackteck.com