SORTING & INSPECTION


Surely there could be nothing worse than a child opening a door on their advent calendar and finding no chocolate treat!”


Sort it out with pick & place robots


The diverse variety of products and fast-changing packaging formats make the confectionery sector one of the fastest- moving and consumer-driven markets on the planet. Pick & place robot technology can help confectioners address the challenges that this places on them. Indeed, according to Mark Stepney, Managing Director at Schubert UK automating sorting and packaging operations represents the quintessential solution. He says: “It is the only way that confectionery manufacturers can achieve profitable packaging performance whilst meeting the ever-increasing demand for diverse product ranges, such as mixed packs and changing packaging formats. Robotic pick & place systems can easily switch, for example, between plastic and cardboard trays, whilst handling a wide range of products and formats. “Schubert is well aware that, especially in the confectionery sector, only high-quality, flawless goods can be delivered to the customer and this can be achieved through the use of integrated image processing technology which is available on today’s robotic pick & place solutions. Schubert, for example, offers a system that can detect the position and shape of the products on the belt and assess quality, to ensure that only flawless products are approved for packaging.” Everything about modern pick & place technology is designed to ensure flexibility, ease of operation and simple programming. Robotic end-effectors – some of which can now be produced using 3D printing – enable rapid format changeovers usually taking just a few simple steps. Some of today’s solutions require only a single control unit which can perform numerous tasks independently – for example, collision monitoring of the robot arms or workspace monitoring.


KennedysConfection.com Kennedy’s Confection August/September 2022 37


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