The use of robots in the packaging sector continues to gain popularity thanks to the safe and force-limiting robots, known as cobots (collaborative robots) from Universal Robots, a leading Danish manufacturer and seller of cobot arms. These cobots have specialized systems that gauge or feel the torque exerted on their axes of motion. Therefore, the interaction between human labor and automation is easy to optimize by combining collaborative robots and the operator in the workplace.

For instance, cobots excel at repetitive operations, enabling employees to bring value to additional tasks that demand human control during production. Collaborative robots may insert many products such as bottles, cartons, pouches, bundles, and bags into a corrugated case in the desired matrix.

Cobots are lightweight, so one way to maximize your return on investment is to deploy them on various production lines as needed. To achieve full utilization and a faster return on investment, one can deploy the cobots from one line to the next to carry out comparable or different case packing tasks when required.

Cobots can also pick up various objects even in unstructured areas like bins or totes due to their revolutionary grippers, computer vision, and machine-learning systems. E-commerce, warehousing, logistics, and supply chain processes are made simpler, quicker, and more effective by integrating collaborative robots which can pick up pouches or products of almost any size or form.

The arm of the UR robot is ideal for small-volume applications and extremely repetitive activities because of its simple, straightforward interface. The robot may be reprogrammed and moved about your activities as necessary. The material handling robotic arm’s compact size and lightweight construction make it simple to deploy in new constellations if the workflow changes.

Although collaborative robots are safe to use in conjunction with operators, it’s crucial to ensure that the conveyors, manipulation system, and end effector are also risk-free. Fortunately, several conveyors and end-effectors with collaborative applications are available on the market. It enables the end user to have a comprehensive solution that meets the collaborative robot’s safety regulations.

You can utilize collaborative robots to automate material handling, palletizing, packaging, bin selecting, labeling, and kitting processes. This automation makes it simple to meet seasonal peaks despite labor shortages, combats rising expenses of new product packaging, and shortens product life cycles.

Since most food items are uniform during the packing process, packaging tasks are a well-established robotics application in the food sector compared to other functions in the global food supply. Small and medium-sized businesses in the food industry are also benefiting from automation using collaborative robots.

The UR3, UR5, and UR10 cobot arms are being used economically, and their small size and easy programming enable them to be employed for a wide range of applications. These packaging robots are enhancing the competitiveness of food processing companies by allowing them to manage volatile markets better.

The food packaging industry has become a significant adopter of cobot use for various tasks, from handling pick and place tasks to food packaging that covers all three process stages: the primary packaging, secondary packaging, and tertiary packaging. Here are six jobs that collaborative robots perform in the food packaging industry.

Processed foods are simple for a robotic gripper to handle since they are frequently similar in size and shape. Packaging the randomly put products using collaborative robots is a relatively common solution. The cobot can recognize, position, and place the product simultaneously with a straightforward pick and place operation.

The first step in packaging is to take the unprocessed or processed food products and wrap them. The packages’ size and form can vary greatly depending on the food items. Because of this, some products are challenging for robots to manage. However, manufactured foods, like cookies, are usually more straightforward to grip due to their consistent size, although some raw foods, like broccoli, can be more difficult.

De-nesting involves taking an empty package out of a stack. Robotic de-panning is frequently used in conjunction with the collaborative robot. The de-panning robot inserts the baked items into a box that was removed from the stack by the de-nesting robot arm.

If you’ve ever baked cakes at home, you know how challenging it can be to get them out of the pan. Large pans are typically used to prepare baked items that are mass-produced. The products are removed in preparation for primary packaging using collaborative robots from Universal Robots. A specialized de-panning tool is used in robotic de-panning to take up an entire tray of baked items. Each baked good is then picked up using a vacuum or tiny pins.

The secondary packing process involves gathering the products wrapped into boxes or cases. The products are already protected from the environment; thus, there is no risk of food contamination at this stage. Collaborative robots are helpful in various secondary packaging applications, including handling delicate foods, because these jobs are easy to accomplish using a cobot.

Tertiary packaging entails putting product boxes through transportation by stacking them on pallets. Robotic palletizing is a highly prevalent application in the food and beverage sector. Cobots, along with the fundamental necessity of three components—the conveyor, the end-effector, and the pallet— significantly reduce the complexity of palletizing.

For instance, three cobots from Universal Robots are in active use in the production line of Atria Scandinavia Company. Plastic tubs are first packaged with lids by the first cobot, then packaged into boxes by the second robot, and then palletized by the third cobot (tertiary packaging). It is an excellent illustration of how a small company uses collaborative robots at every step of the food packaging process, freeing human workers to perform tasks with higher added value.

The adoption of robotic packaging is expected to grow in the years to come, especially for secondary and tertiary packaging tasks. Fortunately, small and medium businesses that generate significantly lower volumes can now benefit from autonomous packaging thanks to collaborative robots.

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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Murtala Yakubu...

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© 2019 The Sun Nigeria - Managed by Netsera.