Role Of Automation And Manufacturing In The Food Industry

Many studies in the food industry spotlight how innovations can enhance automation, manufacturing, and packaging.

The improvements in the automation industry affect other industrial processes. For example, the food industry requires the same technological innovations with enhanced folding, sealing, boxing, taping, picking, and operations. Here is one case study on how robotics and new materials can improve food packaging.

Saving space and costs with robotics

A Finland-based company Order Oy has lately started its North American office. The company manufactures robotic material-handling systems for an extensive range of industries. For a new design of an automated packing machine targeted to the food and packaging industries, Order required a robot that provided fast and accurate handling and could perfectly integrate with a vision system to track and choose the parts from a moving conveyor.

Orfer's new system is the ORFER BoxCellPlus, which expands on the famous BoxCell packing cell with the power to unlock flattened boxes, fold the flaps, seal the base with tape and then fill the box with the products. Orfer's existing BoxCell system uses a Toshiba Machine TH650A SCARA robot from TM Robotics to automate the process that fastly packs the products into plastic or cardboard boxes.

Flexibility is Key

Orfer opted to ceiling-mount the SCARA robot to be placed above the conveyor instead of using the standard floor mounting to the side. This assisted the company in reducing the overall size of the BoxCellPlus while raising the robot's power to access the products going down the moving conveyor and place them in the box. The smaller robot also supported to make the system more cost-effective.

The SCARA robot's capacity to put the parts accurately within 0.01 millimeters was enhanced with an extensive Z shaft of 400 millimeters that enables the details to be placed more in-depth into the box. This accuracy and depth aid prevent product damage during the packing and provide continuous, high-quality output for Orfer customers.

Due to the modular structure and an adjustable control system, the BoxCellPlus can be smoothly integrated into the factory or warehouse management systems. For example, as part of an automated packing system, the BoxCellPlus can be fed from a transporter from a weight-checker, labeling machine, or otherwise a vacuum packer. The robot also interacts with a leading vision system that can be utilized for inspection and send coordinate data to the robot to select the parts from a moving conveyor.

Smaller Size, Better Output

Orfer can move along the Toshiba Machine robot's benefits in its new BoxCellPlus system, comprising faster, smaller size, more precise processing, and lower cost.