Tecno Pack’s packaging line for biscuits picks the biscuits and packs them in flowpacks – the primary packaging – and then inserts the flowpacks into a cardboard box – the secondary packaging.
Robot station with four flexpicker robots to insert biscuits into the cardboard box
The process is characterised by different types of flowpacks containing biscuits, and different carton sizes, which vary according to the size of the flowpacks.
Piab solutions are used for the secondary packaging. To handle these operations, Tecno Pack’s plant is equipped with a robot station with four flexpicker robots.
The flowpacks arrive in a disorderly manner on the conveyor belt where they are scanned by a vision system and then picked up in the correct orientation by the robots. These place them on the compartments of a parallel conveyor for insertion into the cardboard box, which is then closed and labelled.
Reduced the downtime for format changes in the packaging line for biscuits
Each robot can use different types of grippers with 1 or 2 piGRIP® BGI25 suction cups. The grippers are interchangeable depending on the flowpack formats to be picked. To reduce downtime for format changes, the grippers feature a quick-release interface. The grippers are positioned on the wrist of the flexpicker and are very light. This is due to the piCOMPACT®23 SMART vacuum pump that drive the grippers being remote-controlled and located on the upper structure of the robot. This makes the robot much more powerful. In addition, the vacuum is independent and autonomous: for each gripper with 1 or 2 suction cups there is a single pump. No multiple gripping is carried out. Gripping is carried out one at a time, with multiple releases into the case. In terms of cycle times, in the robotic area equipped with four robots, 500 flowpacks are picked-up per minute, i.e., 125 pieces per minute per robot.
