MACHINE BUILDING, FRAMEWORKS & SAFETY FEATURE
ROBOTS & VISION: THE KEY to automating manual processes?
At Mitsubishi Electric’s recent 3D robotics seminar, Rachael Morling discovered why the use of robotics in the food industry is growing, and why the combination of robotics with vision systems is opening up some surprising applications
R
obotics has been a hot topic in many industries for a number of years
now, with many OEMs adopting the technology as part of machines as well as entire systems. As a result, the market is growing, with many new products and solutions being introduced that will aid productivity for the end-user company. Last year, for example, Mitsubishi
Electric introduced the RH-F range of SCARA robots which offer speed, precision and ease of integration; and, thanks to developments since then, this has now been enhanced to withstand a 20kg payload and offer a longer reach. The F-series, which can be floor, wall
or ceiling mounted, features a powerful controller and high performance components which enable it to offer high positioning accuracy and fast movement. All the cabling is enclosed for hygiene, they are IP67 rated and they also use food-safe HG1 grease for lubrication. A cleanroom version is also available which can be used in the pharmaceutical and medical sectors.
FOOD INDUSTRY ROBOTS In fact robots produced by Mitsubishi Electric are now being found in a wide range of applications – including in small assembly machines, to carry out a range of packaging tasks, and for pick and place in a variety of industries. One growing area is the use of robotics
in the food industry. Often believed to be used here simply for packaging tasks, many companies are now embracing the use of robotics for repetitive jobs previously carried out by manual workers. This has been aided by the development of ‘food-safe’ robots which feature smooth surfaces, are manufactured with non-stick materials, are FDA approved and can be easily cleaned. Robots can overcome some of the issues faced when carrying out certain tasks manually – problems with consistency and repeatability, quality, human error, the ability to keep up with the speed of the conveyor, RSI, the need
for regular breaks, and so on. A robot, however, offers 24/7 production, high speed repeatability, flexibility, reliability, accuracy and an increased yield. As a result, applications in food (and beverage) are growing fast. Today, robotics can be used in the food industry for such tasks as: cutting and slicing; pick and place; food assembly (sandwiches, for example); food decoration (such as decorating cakes – more information to follow); food sorting and grading; hot plate handling; and, of course, packaging. Examples here include
picking raw sausages (with the use of a mechanical gripper) from a conveyor into a packaging tray – carefully without causing damage. They can also, for example, handle raw eggs and croissants, and hygienically and delicately handle pies.
VISION TECHNOLOGY An important aspect within not only the food industry but automation in general is the combination of machine vision systems and robotics. Take cake decoration
as an example. This is generally a manual task carried out with skill and requiring a lot of time, with the final result being variable. As cake surfaces aren’t smooth, the decorator will intuitively adjust to allow for regularities when writing Happy Birthday, for example, or adding an image. While there have been attempts in the
past to carry out automated icing using 2D images, these distorted on the rough surface of the cake. Quasar Automation, however, wanted
to create a system capable of neatly applying icing and other decoration to
/ DESIGNSOLUTIONS
By effectively replicating humans’ intuitive hand-eye coordination and the ability to compensate for variations in surfaces in realtime, robots are now capable of decorating cakes
cakes – regardless of irregularities and imperfections in the surface. So, the company selected the F-series
robot, ceiling mounted in a dedicated cell. Using the Ethernet cable, a machine vision camera is mounted on the robot. The vision system was developed with Scorpion Vision. The first step of the operation is
to scan the cake surface so that a 3D mapped image of all the irregularities is produced. Once the 3D mapping is compiled, the
2D image or decoration is compared to it and adjusted for any surface irregularities – a process which takes around one second. From this data, the tracking path for the robot to apply the icing is calculated. To ensure even
application, the robot keeps the icing gun – or other tool – a precise height above the surface of the cake. It follows the major contours and also smaller local bumps, dips and discontinuities, so it is a very detailed profile of vertical movements. The automated system not only produces a consistent quality of product, but it does it in a predictable time, enabling production runs to be properly planned and scheduled. According to Jeremy
Shinton from Mitsubishi Electric, this technology will transfer to a great many applications – such as 3D glue-laying, coating of unusually shaped objects, and accurate
working with organic objects. He adds: “In fact, it is really only
manufactured objects that are of regular size and shape, nearly everything else has a variable topography. So this new system could be useful in automating a great many currently manual processes.” Thanks to developments in robotics and vision, the applications can only grow.
Mitsubishi Electric T: 01707 288769
gb3a.mitsubishielectric.com/fa/en Enter 205
DESIGN SOLUTIONS | JUNE 2014 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44