FEATURE Robotics


Nigel Smith, Managing Director of TM Robotics, explains


What it takes


What it takes to crack a


to crack a tough nut


tough nut


M


acadamias are famously the world’s toughest nut to crack. Requiring an extraordinary 300 pounds


per square inch of pressure, it is unusual to buy these tough nuts without their shells. Happy Nut by Freedom Fresh Australia is among the exceptions. This processing company supplies premium macadamias with a bespoke ‘key’ to crack each one. The business used robotics from Shibaura Machine to automate the picking-and-placing of said ‘keys’ into its macadamia nut packaging. Freedom Fresh roasts the macadamia nuts with a slit sawed into the shell, allowing customers to crack them open easily with the provided tool. However, automating the placement of these keys into bags during the filling process initially proved challenging. The manual method was cumbersome and inefficient, involving a worker standing on a ladder for long periods of time to physically place a key into each bag – up to 20,000 of them.


The obvious solution was to automate


the process. Requirements included automatic pick and place of up to 60 keys per minute, seamless integration with the


10 July/August 2024 | Automation


existing production line, and a minimal factory floor footprint.


Available solutions To meet the requirements, the Freedom Fresh team enlisted automation experts, M.A.P Services, authorised Australian distribution partner of TM Robotics and Shibaura Machine industrial robots. The team selected the THE400 robot as the foundation for the system. The THE series is a flagship SCARA robot range from Shibaura Machine – formerly known as Toshiba Machine until a corporate name change in 2020. The THE series is among the latest robotic launches from the Japanese manufacturer and an ideal choice for pick-and-place applications.


The THE400 met all of the


requirements for the Freedom Fresh project. With a 400mm arm length, the robot is relatively compact and requires minimal factory floor space. It boasts a cycle time of 0.39s with a 2kg load and accurate movement trajectory with high- speed operation. The robot was equipped with TS5000, a high-speed, precise robotic controller from Shibaura Machine.


M.A.P also integrated an IFM O2D camera for vision processing and an IFM encoder for conveyor tracking, with SMC vacuum gear handling the pick- and-place mechanism.


Automated pick-and-place process With this equipment now installed, the automated process begins with the IFM O2D camera monitoring a continuous stream of keys on the conveyor. Upon triggering, the camera captures an image and uses its in-built contour detection to locate each key. The camera then sends the position of each key to the robot controller via TCP/IP Ethernet communications. The user-friendly interface of the


controller and the Shibaura Machine robot teach pendant make the integration process significantly easier. The robot syncs with the IFM encoder for accurate conveyor tracking, picks up the key with a suction cup and carries it to the drop point. There, it waits for a signal from the nut-filling machine before releasing the key. This cycle repeats every second, ensuring a high-speed operation that leaves no room for error or delay.


automationmagazine.co.uk


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