Robots very picky when it comes to Swiss chocolate

Citation

(2005), "Robots very picky when it comes to Swiss chocolate", Industrial Robot, Vol. 32 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2005.04932baf.004

Robots very picky when it comes to Swiss chocolate

Robots very picky when it comes to Swiss chocolate

Keywords: Robotics, Food industry, Confectionery

Swiss chocolate manufacturer, Chocolat Frey, is benefiting from an investment in a high-speed robotic line that copes with 40 different packaging formats every day. The new Sigpack Systems line, which consists of eight Delta Robots, has reduced manual handling at Chocolat Frey's Buchs factory by placing chocolates into blister packs and blister packs into cartons.

To further improve its product quality and productivity as well as reduce manual handling, Chocolate Frey turned to fellow Swiss company and packaging expert, Sigpack Systems for a new robotic line. Having already successfully used Sigpack Systems' packaging robots, Chocolat Frey was confident in its order of the line. Now in operation, the line fills plastic trays with chocolates and accommodates 40 different packaging formats every day (Plate 5).

Plate 5 The new line fills plastic trays with chocolates and accomodates 40 different packaging formats everyday

The new robotic line had to be integrated into existing machines such as cartoners and closers. The equipment's flexibility allows both chocolates and blister packs, in many different shapes and sizes, to be handled. “One of the main arguments for choosing Sigpack Systems was the simplicity of the software changes needed to accommodate new packaging formats,” explained Andrew Ettlin, project manager at Chocolat Frey. “Indeed, this simplicity allows us to react quickly and securely to new demands from the market.”

Containers are moved to the robot line from a blister de-stacker. The blister packs are recognized by a highly advanced vision system and information on both position and location is transmitted to the robot motion controller. The vision system also recognises the chocolates and information on their position and location is transmitted to the robot's motion controller, enabling each robot to pick up the products precisely and place them in the correct place in the blister pack. The selection of the correct suction head is key for success in this application.

Once the blister packs have been filled, they must then be placed in their boxes. These are supplied by an existing cartoner and placed in position for a robot module. The filled blister packs are recognised once again by optical processing, securely grasped by the robot and placed in the box. The handling of the blister packs places very stringent demands on the technology involved. In this case, it requires the use of a special tool, developed especially for filled blister packs of chocolates. The same tool also places pads in the boxes before the latter is finally closed. The Sigpack engineers involved in this development demonstrated a high level of creativity and the resultant success is due to the clever design.

A Delta robot also closes the box or adds the lid, either folding the attached lid into the closed position or placing a separate lid onto the box.

Manual packing is still needed for infrequently required product formats. In deciding the equipment layout, it was therefore necessary to establish the correct combination and balance of automation and manual work. “It is not economic to fully automate the packaging of low volume product formats,” commented Bernard Fenner, Vice-President marketing at Sigpack Systems. “A consistent, logical, overall design must be the prime consideration in the acquisition of equipment of this type.”