Gerbera United
Gerbera Buffer System
System for storing harvested Gerberas in a buffer system.
The harvested Gerberas are brought in harvest cars with 6 containers on them. These containers contain so-called interiors consisting of 4 tubes into which the Gerberas are placed during harvesting. These interiors are removed from the harvesting cars by a robotic arm.
The robotic arm is equipped with a weighing system in order to get an indication of the number of gerberas per 6 interiors. The robot brings the interiors to the cutting unit where approximately 1 cm of the stems are cut off. The stem remnants are removed to a waste bin by an elevator belt. Next, these interiors are placed in type 577 containers. These containers have just been supplied with fresh water. By using pushers and belts, these containers arrive on a belt which, by means of starting/stopping, places these containers at a separation distance of 10 cm.
A insert crane via a rail system driving behind the warehouse, picks up these containers and places them in the warehouse. The warehouse consists of a racking system about 35 meters long and 5 levels high, where about 355 containers can be stored. A central control system registers which containers are placed where. At the front of the warehouse, a take-out crane can take the containers out of the warehouse at 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 at a time and transport them to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th processing location.