Food Robotics - page 3

Stack ’Em
Palletizing has robots putting the cases or cartons that contain packaged foods onto a shipping pallet. While palletizing is usually relatively straightforward, this application becomes more complex when food manufacturers need to ship mixed load pallets. Joseph Reams, Technical Sales Manager at Schmalz, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, explains how mixed product pallets are put together robotically. ‘‘Schmalz takes several products and creates mixed SKUs to go from a distribution warehouse to the individual store. We put a layer of one item on a pallet, then another layer on top of that with a different product.’‘ Schmalz provides grippers for palletizing.

Because some foods require low temperatures to prevent spoilage, creating mixed pallets often needs to be done within a cold room. Functioning in low temperatures presents greater demands on equipment, particularly grippers. ‘‘When mixing SKUs, grippers need to handle that variety of items. Foam pads can handle a wider range of products,’‘ says Joseph Reams. ‘‘Temperature becomes an issue with foam rubber pad on grippers. When foam pads are brought into a freezing environment, they tend to freeze when exposed to moisture. The foam becomes unresponsive,’‘  Reams says. When foam padded grippers are not appropriate, integrators turn to using suction cups.

Suction cups are also on the mind of John Holmes of PIAB. Holmes says that vacuum-driven silicone suction cups pose no threat of contaminating food products. ‘‘Air-driven vacuum pumps do not require oil and do not generate heat, so are very safe,’‘ Holmes says. Silicone suction cups must be food grade, Holmes adds.

Palletizing applications in the food and beverage sector make heavy use of vision, particularly when building mixed load pallets. Hans Schouten, Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Flexicell Inc., Ashland, Virginia, delineates the multiple roles of vision in food palletizing applications. ‘‘Vision is used for product recognition, finding orientation, and for inspection. For example, as frozen bread rolls come out of a freezer, some of their dimensions might not meet specifications,’‘ Schouten says. ‘‘Vision systems help pick up the product, but end-users can also use vision as a secondary quality control inspection.’‘

Burgers, Beers and Robots
Food and beverage robotics perform tasks other than picking, packing and palletizing. Robotics are increasingly used for applications as diverse as butchering of meat and dispensing beverages. Robotic meat cutting is still a rare application in North America, but is more common in Europe. KUKA Robotics Corp., Clinton Township, Michigan, is one company that has implemented meat cutting work cells in Europe. William A. Willard, National Accounts Manager for Food and Beverage applications at KUKA comments on the function of robotics in meat processing lines. ‘‘KUKA is working with companies that specialize in food processing in Europe who have applied our robots.’‘ Willard explains that after an animal has been processed, robots do the prime cutting. He says that robotic meat cutting is performed in a similar way that a butcher does except that a hog, for instance, is oriented vertically rather than horizontally.


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