AUTOMATION AND PROCESS CONTROL
Breaking DOWN
automation solutions
Suzanne Callander looks at traditional and more modern automation solutions and finds out how embracing today’s digitalised automation solutions can help enhance efficiency, improve product quality, and meet the fast-changing demands being placed on confectionery production lines.
T
he terms ‘robotics’ and ‘automation’ are often used interchangeably. However, there is a distinction between these concepts and this is important for confectionery businesses,
aiming to enhance productivity, quality, and efficiency in their production lines, to understand. Put simply, robotics is a subset of automation. It relates to machines which are capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically, often programmable and capable of movement on multiple axes. In confectionery
26 Kennedy’s Confection July 2024
manufacturing environments robots are typically designed to perform tasks such as picking and placing, packaging, and quality inspection.
Automation refers more widely to the use of control systems – such as computers, software solutions and robots – for handling different processes and machinery with the goal of replacing the human or removing the need for human intervention in a particular process. This can encompass a broad spectrum of applications, ranging from the use of simple mechanical devices right through to complex programmable logic controllers (PLCs), programmable automation controllers (PACs), distributed
control systems (DCSs) and artificial intelligence (AI).
Traditional solutions Traditionally, automation in the confectionery industry focussed on mechanising repetitive and labour- intensive processes. Typical solutions include: Conveyors: These are ubiquitous in confectionery production environments today, having become an essential tool for transporting ingredients and products around a factory, through different stages of production, reducing the need for manual handling.
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