Food Manufacturing: The Last Frontier for Automation

POSTED 05/24/2024  | By: Jim Beretta, A3 Contributing Editor

Robotic automation alternate strategies are a total see in plenty of manufacturing sectors and enjoy been a mainstay in the automotive sector since the Nineteen Fifties. The world pandemic spurred an increased passion in each fully computerized and collaborative robot (cobot) alternate strategies no longer handiest in immense manufacturing operations, nonetheless additionally in dinky and medium facilities. The exception, then all but again, has been in the food manufacturing sector, which has been slack to undertake robot alternate strategies, final the final frontier to automation.

Traits

Through the height of the enviornment pandemic, there became a dash to automate in each industry.  With each sector coping with labour shortages, supply chain points and manufacturing delays, robot automation alternate strategies moved from a “good to enjoy in some unspecified time in the future” to “how briskly can we put into effect it”. After all, robots don’t get sick, don’t elevate holidays, can bustle 24/7/365 and don’t elevate inner most days. In the food industry, many facilities didn’t enjoy teams of engineers who had been coping with automation alternate strategies for years, which made robot automation complex to place into effect, put together and gain.

“After a push for automation in the food industry sooner or later of COVID-19, we’re seeing a slowing and reprioritization of automation initiatives.  Moderately than automating no longer easy processes, many companies are having a see at upstream processes that supply a quicker return on funding since they are more automatable. Palletizing/depalletizing, case packing, tray processing and field assemblies are more straightforward to automate, less advanced and would possibly well perchance supply a proof of thought for workers that robots are no longer stealing jobs which is able to develop a culture of automation,” talked about Mike Bannister, vice chairman of gross sales at Convergix Automation Alternate strategies.

Client procuring changed sooner or later of the pandemic, and the discover browsing pattern has continued even after bricks and mortar shops reopened. Suppliers had to rethink how to gain inventory. Moderately than stout retail point to pallets of every merchandise, suppliers are soliciting for combined pallets of partial orders for point to. Scott Lang, president and CEO of Motion Controls Robotics Inc, saw an magnify in quiz for modular pallets which will doubtless be self-contained, easy to pass and would possibly well perchance very smartly be delivered in weeks fairly than months. “The modular pallets enjoy a constructed-in forklift so that they would possibly well perchance very smartly be hurried to the build the quiz is. As smartly as, they work cherish building blocks that would possibly well perchance very smartly be configured to any floor intention. They’re additionally intuitive — vogue of ‘plod and play’ — easy to use for workers who would possibly well perchance no longer be conversant in robotic applications.”

Credit: Motion Controls Robotics

“The Smartphone ruin is encouraging robot producers to mediate in a different procedure about automation. With innovation in synthetic intelligence (AI) and vision to boot to machine studying (ML), we are able to ‘say’ the robots to troubleshoot and allow preventative upkeep. The Cyber web of Issues (IoT) and cloud-basically basically based mostly applications would possibly well perchance very smartly be paired with digital fact (VR), and an employee on the plant floor can work along with somebody from our company in staunch-time to diagnose, troubleshoot and repair most concerns without the necessity for a provider call,” talked about Bannister.

Challenges

The food processing sector has a ramification of bizarre challenges that fabricate robot integration complex. Robotic hardware and strict sanitary and washdown protocols are no longer appropriate, and food grade oil and lubricant is required to meet smartly being and security regulations. As smartly as, the occupy of many primitive robot arms and atomize-of-arm-instruments leaves areas which will doubtless be complex to sanitize entirely, increasing a threat of micro organism being supplied into the manufacturing line.

As smartly as, the North American market has been slower to undertake automation, and therefore there is a vital education required when prospects are exploring automation alternate strategies in the food industry. The industry tends to elevate an all-or-nothing potential to automation, and therefore is ignorant of the innovations of the last few years. There remains to be a heavy map integration industry mannequin whose income is proportional to time spent versus selection of merchandise supplied. With the SKU variation inherent in the food industry, customarily alternate strategies are over-engineered, and make inconsistently when customarily more helpful is better. “Many attainable prospects ruin no longer enjoy any thought of the resolution potentialities with advances in vision, synthetic intelligence (AI) and machine studying (ML). We on a conventional foundation hear ‘you would possibly well perchance well perchance perchance ruin that?’ when we suggest a resolution,” talked about Harley Green, vice-president, strategic alternate strategies, Refined Robotics.

As smartly as, prospects are nerve-racking more map flexibility. “One supplier wants product in 5-gallon buckets, whereas but some other wants the same product in single encourage containers. The product is produced on the same line in the same plant, and singulation isn’t effective or that you would possibly well perchance well perchance perchance mediate. Customers need with a scheme to pass from bulk pack to single pack seamlessly, or pack a field of the same flavour and a field of six various flavours at the same time. Flexibility, agility, ease-of-use and nimble applications are going to be a chronic pattern,” talked about James Skelding, vice-president of gross sales and marketing, Motion Controls Robotics.

Workers in the food manufacturing facility are adept at troubleshooting and snort solving on the fly, eliminating subpar merchandise or catching errors downstream without stopping the manufacturing line. “Other folks can cope with chaos; robots can’t. Production facilities, especially these constructed in the 1960s–Eighties, were designed for human workers. It’s no longer a matter of swapping a robot into the direct an employee occupied. If each job desires to be singulated, that requires a huge footprint, more than one robots and that would possibly enhance the initial expense, complexity and upkeep,” talked about Green.

There became a cultural shift in the social atmosphere in recent decades, which the pandemic expedited. Social drivers similar to smartly being concerns, frigid repetitive environments and a change in the social atmosphere enjoy resulted in fewer folks getting into food manufacturing, because the roles have to no longer any longer as revered as in previous generations. Coupled with increased hygienic concerns and the quiz for more traceability, the food sector has struggled to search out adequate labor to meet quiz. “We are positioned in Switzerland, on the border with France. The dairy industry is thought to be one of our fundamental sectors, and we were ready to leverage our expertise in sensitive environments similar to semiconductors and scientific instruments. Europe is farther forward in food industry automation than North The usa,” talked about Mathias Konne, North American industry head-food of Stäubli Crew.

While plenty of the increased food producers enjoy a culture of innovation, these companies were constructed thru years of acquisition of smaller companies. The corporate head residing of job would possibly well perchance enjoy the structure and mindset to automate on a immense scale, nonetheless the legacy plant areas can pose a barrier or subject to automation. “Legacy food manufacturing web sites would possibly well perchance enjoy 8-foot ceilings, and we can’t roll a robot in on a tow motor. Basically the most successful automation installations in the food sector occur in areas that allow for it,” talked about Bannister.

One other subject to automation in the food sector lies with resolution-making.  While other sectors, such because the automotive industry are smartly-versed in robot-integrated automation alternate strategies and enjoy skilled automation engineers and robot programmers on-workers, automation in the food industry is a novel thought for many facilities. While a food automation resolution makes sense in the company offices, without the enhance and expertise on the plant floor, it is doomed to fail. The quality assurance division would possibly well perchance enjoy various wants and expectations from the approach engineering division, such because the necessity for exhausting recordsdata to hunt recordsdata from of adjustments from suppliers or upstream processes to make better quality, consistency and throughput. While robotic alternate strategies can present that recordsdata, it peaceable desires to be distilled, analyzed and reported and that requires expertise that would possibly no longer be accessible at the plant floor stage.

Alternate strategies

Even handed one of many advantages (and disadvantages) of a robotic resolution is the amount of recordsdata that would possibly well perchance very smartly be generated. For a producing sector fairly queer with automation, collecting and inspecting the suggestions would possibly well perchance very smartly be unmanageable. The IoT and AI can facilitate processing immense volumes of recordsdata, pinpoint gaps or quality points and present the proof to enhance adjustments. “ML, AI and vision applications can lead the potential to continuous enchancment. Upstream concerns will impact downstream processes; if you accumulate the concerns at supply and remove heinous merchandise earlier in the food manufacturing job, you would possibly well perchance well perchance perchance decrease scrap price without halting or delaying the manufacturing. Yield is king, so better consistency equals better income and fewer ruin,” talked about Green.

Stäubli Crew has been ready to leverage their expertise in other sectors to, rather actually, ruin an even bigger robot for the food manufacturing direct. Moderately than retrofitting an present occupy, the hygienic atmosphere robots are fully enclosed, with pressurized arms to stop water and micro organism from getting into the robot and increased gaps between segments for better washability. They use handiest food safe lubricants and other supplies. “Moderately than adapting and hoping for the staunch, we occupy specifically for the food sector. After all, when artisanal cheese grew to change into a excessive-atomize product, the capital expenditure became more uncomplicated to clarify since margins were better, which helped ROI,” talked about Konne.

Credit: Stäubli Crew

Even handed one of many challenges with any vogue of food processing is the scarcity of uniformity. One other of the adjustments in user habits that became driven by the pandemic is an increased quiz in ready-to-utilize (RTE) alternate strategies, which customarily includes more than one food processes, any of which is able to change the form, consistency or dimension of the substances. Other folks can adapt to the adaptations, nonetheless robots enjoy a more troublesome time. Dwell-of-arm-instruments (EAOT) with at ease grippers that mimic human arms present a real different, especially when equipped with vision and AI alternate strategies. “Patrons demand consistency in the presentation of food. As an illustration, if one chicken breast is placed breastbone up in a tray, that reduces visual enchantment. EOAT with vision ensures uniformity. As smartly as, innovation as of late permits robots to bulk job tray deciding on as fast as a human employee, with less threat of accidental publicity to wrong micro organism. Many robots equipped with ML self-beautiful in between runs,” talked about Green.

Future of food automation

Meals manufacturing would possibly well perchance enjoy been the final frontier of automation, nonetheless no more. Robotic automation is nice looking upstream in the food manufacturing cycle, as robot harvesting and laser weeding are gaining traction. Green told there is a continued quiz for a excessive stage of flexibility and atomize-to-atomize alternate strategies.

“The Smartphone ruin will continue to push ease of operation, with folks fascinating to lengthen the ROI if AI, ML and vision permits plant workers to troubleshoot and snort-resolve,” talked about Skelding. Konne added the IoT will allow staunch-time monitoring that would possibly magnify proactive upkeep. Meals manufacturing facilities will continue to boldly inch the build none enjoy long previous before and robotic automation will continue to steer the potential.

For more recordsdata on automation and food, inspect the A3 on-quiz webinar on the same matter and check an interview with Motion Controls Robotics CEO, Scott Lang in a future episode of A3 | The Robotic Industry Podcast.