Flexibly expandable: automated
packaging of respiratory protection masks

About the application:

The Breckle company is one of the largest mattress manufacturers in Germany. But the corresponding demand has been limited since the beginning of 2020. At the same time, in February 2020, high demand for respirators was reported by the healthcare industry, so the company decided to switch part of its production to respirators.

The company faced several challenges at the same time: time and cost pressure, as well as the increasing need for automation levels with increasing demand.
With Low Cost Automation, a modular automation solution for mask packaging was developed - cost-effective, quickly delivered and suitable for entry-level automation. Thanks to the modular Low Cost Automation system, the solution can be easily and quickly expanded to meet individual requirements.
Today, the Breckle company produces around one million masks per week.

The problem

In order to be able to respond as quickly as possible to the unforeseen demand for respiratory protection masks, Breckle GmbH had to restructure its own production in a hurry. In the beginning the masks were made by hand. With increasing demand, the company had acquired the know-how and automated the mask production step by step.
In addition to the fast delivery and low costs of the automation solution, the use of hygienic components for the production and packaging of respiratory masks is the main focus.
In addition, the available space in the production hall is limited, and therefore machines have to be as space-saving as possible.
In order for the respiratory protection masks to be certified as a German brand, the material for production is not purchased in China. In order to be able to keep up with the cost and hygiene standards of foreign manufacturers, Breckle relies on components from Low Cost Automation, among others, for its highly automated production and packaging.

The solution:

Every week, four machines with approx. 20 employees produce around 100,000 OP and FFP2 masks. For the manual and monotonous packaging of the masks, two fully automatic packaging systems based on the igus linear robot system are used. The masks, which have successfully passed the automatic quality control, are filled via a conveyor belt with the help of drylin bearings and shafts into the cardboard boxes. These are then automatically provided by the linear robot system.

Driven by a flat toothed belt drive, the drylin E flat linear robots move absolutely lubrication-free and meet high hygienic standards. For the entire robot kinematics, plant manufacturer Ximaj uses a B&R control system, which in turn communicates with a dryve D1 control system from igus to control the motors of the system.
With the introduction of the quality assurance system and automatic packaging machines, mask production was reduced from three shifts to two. In addition to the time savings, there is also a high cost advantage. Automation solutions from LCA usually are paid off within one year. The tribologically optimised components are lubrication-free and maintenance-free.
With increasing demand for respiratory protection masks, Breckle will continue to expand automated production in the future.