EQUIPMENT & MACHINERY Picking and placing Automating to save
In the last 3 years, Strautmann’s BaleTainer and AutoLoadBaler machines have proved to be a revelation to their users and shown to be outstanding value for money. Automate to Save has been so successful that a well-known Swedish flat pack furniture company is installing the BaleTainer globally and major German supermarket chains are installing the AutoLoadBaler in every store. Compact & Bale has been appointed UK distributor for top German manufacturer Strautmann’s automated baling machinery range and recently had an AutoLoadBaler on show at the Packaging Innovations show. AutoLoadBaler is a self-loading vertical baler, with a lower cost and smaller footprint than horizontal semi-automatic balers. Compact & Bale are offering machine demonstrations for companies interesting in seeing it in action. For further information please telephone 01732 852244, email
info@compactandbale.com or visit
www.compact-and-bale.com
Although robotics uptake amongst UK manufacturers is dramatically rising, pick and place is still an overlooked labour intensive process with multiple operators often standing alongside conveyors or at rotary tables. Yet there are now three key solutions to replace these arduous tasks including a pneumatic or motor driven mechanical system, which with basic linear movement of mainly two or
three axis, is best suited to operations where lower positional accuracy is required. Robotic arms, with a high degree of movement and fully programmable, are ideal for putting products into boxes with flaps that require a larger working envelope. And finally where minimal movement is required, the high speed Delta style unit is suited to picking up lighter objects, such as chocolates or biscuits and placing them in a shallow box. For further information please telephone 0371 811544 or visit
www.pacepacker.com
Dairy test
AutoCoding Systems and Dairy Crest, Davidstow, are no strangers when it comes to developing applications to meet specific requirements. They have recently worked together to design a vision system, which analyses and identifies vacuum failures on sealed packs of 20kg blocks of cheese. Dairy Crest, Davidstow, produces over 48,000 tonnes of cheddar cheese per year in 20kg blocks, 80 per cent of this being the well-known Cathedral City brand. The 20kg blocks are vacuum sealed to prevent air leaking into the cheese prior to the 12-18 month maturation cycle. The AutoCoding vision system identifies vacuum failures on the sealed 20kg blocks. The system
comprises a camera driven software application that analyses the reflected light from the surface of the vacuum-sealed cheese block and rejects the block if it doesn’t meet the defined criteria. Reports are generated which give the total number of blocks through the system, the number of seal failures and an analysis of the efficiency of the sealing process. With over 120 tonnes of cheese going along the line each day, the system had to be efficient because even a small percentage of cheese blocks with broken seals would result in mould growth during the maturation period. For further information please telephone 01928 790444, email
janetharrison@autocodingsystems.com or visit
www.autocodingsystems.com
This pack would fail as the number of green highlighted areas has dropped below the defined threshold indicating a broken seal
The image captured by the camera compared to the actual cheese. This pack would pass successfully. If the number of green highlight- ed areas drops below a defined threshold, the pack would fail as it would indicate that the seal had broken and air had entered the pack
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