PRINTING & PACKAGING FEATURE The factory operations manager commented:
Robotic solution meats
packaging demands
Needing to automate its crate packaging operation, a UK pork producer turned to Brillopak for an automated solution
F
ollowing investment in a state-of-the-art line for cutting, portioning and packaging
fresh pork into trays, in 2020 a leading UK pork producer turned its attention to its end-of-life crate packaging operation. This was still a manual process, but the main motivation was to maximise the potential of existing staff by redeploying them onto more value-adding tasks. To help, the company turned to Brillopak. The producer’s brief was for a small footprint
system that could pack multiple tray-sealed fresh pork SKUs, ranging in size from 250g up to 1kg, into plastic retail half crates (300 x 400mm) at a line speed of 66ppm, with minimal manual intervention. To meet the requirements, Brillopak proposed a solution with its UniPAKer robot at its centre. This system has already revolutionised the packing of bagged fresh produce such as apples, sprouts and potatoes into crates, but is now meeting meat, fish & poultry industry requirements.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE While tray-sealed packs of meat appear to be a fairly straightforward item to pick and place (they are uniform with flat surfaces and are not overly delicate), this project posed specific challenges that Brillopak had to overcome. For maximum efficiency, trays have to enter the robot cell in the same orientation. On this line, however, some trays exit the tray sealer narrow- edge leading, whereas others are wide-edge leading, depending on the tooling format. Brillopak addressed this potential issue with the installation of a servo turner that repositions trays after they leave the tray sealer. Another challenge was that the lines in the
factory were close together, and while a standard single delta robot cell would have fitted into the space, it wouldn’t have been fast enough
30 MAY 2021 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
to make the project viable from a payback perspective. Adding a second robot, however, would have made the system fast enough, but on an unacceptably large footprint. Brillopak’s solution was to specify its UniPAKer
in a dual-pick configuration, in which a single robot performs two picks, then places the packs in the crate, two at a time. This cost-effective and space-efficient option works well for tray- sealed meat packs, which can’t be handled at very high speeds as the film lid may tear. With this approach, the producer’s 60-70ppm speed target could comfortably be achieved.
“The UniPAKer system looks simplistic but is actually intelligent and clever inside. It is very user-friendly, which is important given that most of our staff do not have English as a first language. It was affordable and we were shown that it could pack our product before we had it delivered.” Another benefit, he explained, was that a single operator can both place crates into the system and palletise because the crates enter and exit the system from the same location. Training is also a key part of any automation
project, and Brillopak was willing to spend as much time as was needed to explain and demonstrate the system to factory floor staff. Brillopak pledges to work with customers after
delivery to ensure their system is operating as expected, and this was put to the test when, a few weeks after installation, the customer was having issues with the robot dropping trays. The company quickly got to the root of the
problem: pack height variations between batches. Subtle temperature changes were causing the pack contents to either expand or contract, resulting in pack height variations of up to 4-5mm either way. These variations were hindering the robot’s ability to draw a vacuum, causing it to drop the pack (if the pack was lower than usual) or crush the pack (if the pack was higher than usual). Brillopak therefore developed a feature that allows the operator to manually adjust the position at which the vacuum is turned on. Commenting on the solution, the factory
operations manager said: “The main goal was to improve process. We have two shift patterns, day and night, with four on and four off. The ability to save that labour on what are highly repetitive tasks provided a fast return on investment.”
Brillopak A SWEET SUCCESS STORY
Secondary packaging is usually required in the confectionary manufacturing industry when preparing multiple product packs for wholesale distribution. In high-volume production, manufacturers pack sealed bags of candy in cardboard cartons, which are in turn stacked for shrink- wrapping and palletisation. Preformed cartons arrive at the packing station in a continuous stream.
The conveyor then halts and the packing sequence commences. A pick- and-place robot lifts successive layers of bags and lowers them into the carton, which is then conveyed to a sealing station. If a carton stops in the wrong position, or if no carton is present, the packing sequence must
be inhibited to prevent damage occurring. Here, a reliable non-contact sensor system is needed to detect the position of the leading carton as it arrives at the packing station, halting the conveyor and initiating the packing sequence once. Meeting this demand are the Contrinex C23 range, which can reliably detect slow- or fast-moving
targets. Used in conjunction with a 41mm-diameter reflector, these sensors have an operating range of up to 4500mm. A single sensor is mounted beside the carton conveyor, immediately before the packing station, with the reflector positioned on the opposite side. As the leading carton breaks the light beam, the sensor detects its presence and halts the conveyor in the correct position for packing. Mounted in 20 x 30 x 10mm miniature plastic housings, these photoelectric sensors are available
with industry-standard PNP or NPN 3-wire or 4-wire output. Connection to the customer’s control system is via a PVC-sheathed cable with the choice of an integral M12 connector or a hermetically sealed entry. A second output provides a stability alarm in the event of reduced sensitivity, flagging the need for preventative maintenance before any performance degradation occurs.
PLUS Automation
www.PLUSAx.co.uk / DESIGNSOLUTIONS
www.brillopak.co.uk
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