Linear bearings and energy supply systems in sustainable automatic beverage machines

• What was needed: readychain® energy chain; chainflex® cable; drylin® W-profile rail guides; drylin® N-low-profile guide system
• Requirements: The original chain guide system led to failure of the cables, which rotated slowly with each cycle and were twisted after 1,000 cycles. In addition, a system was needed that could be supplied ready for connection in order to avoid time-consuming and cost-intensive customisation.
• Industry: vending machinery
• Success for the customer: The new readychain® system eliminates all maintenance problems as a ready-made e-chain system®. Since then, the vending machine has been working perfectly.

They can be found in airports, supermarkets and railway stations: The drinks vending machines from Drop Water in California. Customers can select their drink at the Drop Station via a touch display and then receive a customised, compostable container. The contents: tap water, which is filtered at the point of sale and flavoured, contains caffeine or has a specific temperature, depending on the selection. With the new vending machine, Drop Water is decentralising the bottling process by using the self-service kiosk as a mini bottling plant. The company is thus taking a much more environmentally friendly approach than conventional bottled water suppliers. This is because there is no need to transport filled bottles.
The heart of the vending machine is a linear robot that produces and dispenses the drinks. It is supplied with energy and data for this purpose. Despite the use of an energy chain, the cable failed in the prototype. It was found that the cables rotated slowly with each cycle and were twisted after 1,000 cycles. The second problem lay in the harnessing. To avoid having to constantly buy, cut, modify and finally assemble each individual component, the company needed a functioning, ready-to-connect solution.

With the right interior separation and the order of a ready-made readychain® e-chain system, the vending machine now works perfectly. This enabled the company to save considerable time and costs for assembly. The Americans also relied on our modular linear product system for the linear robot and the dispensing unit. The mechanics here consist of maintenance-free drylin® W-rail and drylin® N-rail and slides. With the feed-through of the project, Drop Water was able to help a forward-looking and socially responsible company with the joint realisation. to help with the
joint realisation. The collaboration is so valuable precisely because it can make a small contribution to curbing the pollution of the planet. For this reason, the project also convinced the jury of the vector 7th award. The prize is awarded every two years and honours creative energy chain applications worldwide. DropWater received the green vector award, which was presented to two sustainable projects for the first time.