A robotic solution to guarantee hygiene and quality

TASK

Producing technical parts in ultra restrictive environments

Plastibell, which was created in 1986, is a plastic parts injection molding specialist that belongs to the Healthcare & Industry business unit of PSB Industries Group.

Every year, Plastibell produces 160 to 600 million parts for products such as medical devices, diagnostic devices and dialysis bag connectors.

These parts are manufactured by injection molding using granules of polypropylene, polycarbonate and polystyrene.

Plastibell operates in stringently regulated and quality-controlled environments for its customers in the healthcare sector, a key strategic growth market for the company.

SOLUTION

Guaranteeing hygiene, traceability and safety throughout the production process

Plastibell turned to robots for its industrial process. When material arrives at the molding machine, it is heated and injected into molds to form the parts. And that’s where the robots come in. They extract the parts from the mold and transfer them to a clean room for final packaging.

Stäubli robots offer significant advantages to the pharmaceutical industry. “First, they eliminate the need for human handling, thereby guaranteeing an ultra clean environment for packaging the parts,” explains Plastibell’s director of healthcare operations. “Second, they offer total product traceability, which means we can guarantee that parts do not contain mix-ups in materials due to human error. Third, with robots, we can guarantee the safety and quality of parts throughout the production cycle.”

As a crucial component of production, a Stäubli robot removes parts from the molds and readies them for the bottom and lid to be added. A second robot then collects and stacks the parts prior to final packaging.

THE RESULT

Patient safety is guaranteed

Customers in the healthcare industry have very stringent requirements. “As a manufacturer, we have a vital responsibility to guarantee the cleanliness and safety of our products by maintaining an impeccable work environment,” continues Plastibell's director of healthcare operations. “We also have to ensure the highest possible level of quality and dimensional accuracy for all our products.”

Our key objective: Guaranteeing patient safety.

« Thanks to Stäubli robots, we can guarantee the hygiene, traceability, and quality of our products throughout the production process. »