How an Italian Flour Producer Automated End-of-Line Palletizing in 5 Days

Hand-operated palletizing is just one of one of the most usual, and many ignored, inadequacies in food production. It takes place at the end of every product packaging line, change after change, and due to the fact that it has actually constantly been done by hand, it hardly ever obtains flagged as a trouble worth fixing.

However the expenses are actual. Operators executing repeated training throughout a whole change create persistent neck and back pain. Throughput is topped by exactly how quickly an individual can literally relocate. And as manufacturing quantities expand, the only remedy offered without automation is to locate even more individuals ready to do a literally requiring work in a labor market that is ending up being progressively challenging to work with from.

That was precisely the circumstance at Molino Merano, a flour manufacturer based in Merano, in the Trentino Alto Adige area of North Italy. With approximately 80 staff members and a wide variety of costs flour and grain-based items for both commercial and retail markets, Molino Merano had actually constructed a solid online reputation for high quality. However as one of its crucial product packaging lines expanded in quantity, the hand-operated palletizing procedure at the end of that line was ending up being more challenging to maintain.

There was no area in the existing group for a devoted palletizing driver. Employing was challenging. And the physical toll on individuals doing the job was visible. Something needed to transform.

Locating the best remedy

The course to automation began the means several commercial automation tasks do at an exhibition. Sebastian Obrist, Technical Supervisor at Molino Merano, was examining choices when the group uncovered Robotiq.

What stuck out had not been simply the modern technology. It was the release design.

Several automation tasks take months occasionally much longer from very first discussion to a running remedy. Combination intricacy, custom-made design, security framework, and training needs all include time and price that make the financial investment really feel unclear, specifically for a producer that can not pay for to interfere with manufacturing for an extensive duration.

The Robotiq Palletizing Workcell (PE20) provided something various: a joint robot-based Workcell made for quick release, very easy driver fostering, and real-world versatility without fence, without scanners, and without a prolonged assimilation task.

From exploration to a running Workcell in 5 days

After picking the PE20, Molino Merano relocated swiftly. Components were supplied within a week, and from that factor, the clock began.

Setting up, circuitry, and appointing were finished in 3 to 4 days. Last screening took place on day 5. By the end of the very first week with devices on-site, the palletizing cell was functional and running item.

” After installment, setting up, and appointing, it was all performed in 4 days. On the 5th day, we did the screening and it functioned.”

Sebastian Obrist, Technical Supervisor, Molino Merano

That rate was not unintended. An essential consider quick implementations such as this is having the task correctly confirmed prior to anything ships. Robotiq’s IQ platform that includes a Fit Examine, Workcell Simulator, 3D scanning ability, and ROI calculator enables suppliers to validate if the Workcell will certainly operate in their details setting prior to installment starts. Cycle times, reach, pallet setups, conveyor designs, and website restrictions are all validated with simulation, so there are not a surprises when the devices gets here.

What the PE20 really does at Molino Merano

The remedy set up at Molino Merano is greater than a robotic arm piling boxes. It is a total Palletizing Workcell made around the truths of the manufacturing flooring.

The PE20 at Molino Merano consists of an upright interlayer and an incorporated wise infeed, whic h with each other enable the Workcell to deal with numerous SKUs throughout Molino Merano’s wide item variety of various flour kinds, various bundle dimensions, various pallet setups without needing substantial transition time in between runs.

The joint facet implies the remedy runs securely along with drivers without fence or security scanners, maintaining the impact small also on a manufacturing flooring with restricted room. And due to the fact that drivers can transform pallets while the remedy proceeds palletizing, the line never ever needs to pick up a pallet swap.

For a center that had actually been doing every one of this by hand, the distinction was instant.

What altered after palletizing automation

3 months after appointing, the outcomes at Molino Merano are concrete and quantifiable.

The neck and back pain is gone: Operators that invested their changes by hand raising and piling boxes no more do that job. The physical toll that collected over years of repeated hand-operated handling has actually been gotten rid of from the work completely.

The line can scale without hiring: Manufacturing quantities on the line have actually boosted, and Molino Merano has actually not required to include a bachelor to the palletizing procedure. The PE20 taken in the boosted work which is specifically substantial in a labor market where certified employees for repeated hand-operated jobs are progressively tough to locate and maintain.

Operators are doing better job: Personnel that were formerly connected to pallet piling currently have time to add somewhere else on the manufacturing flooring. The automation did not get rid of work it rerouted individuals towards job that is much less literally requiring and a lot more significant.

The financial investment repaid for itself swiftly: The mix of labor cost savings, throughput enhancements, and driver reallocation created a fast roi. A solid outcome for any type of devices acquisition, and an engaging situation for various other food suppliers examining automation for the very first time.

Check out the complete study

This article covers the highlights, yet the complete Molino Merano study goes much deeper consisting of a comprehensive malfunction of the difficulty, the remedy parts, the outcomes, and solution to one of the most usual concerns suppliers ask prior to buying palletizing automation.

Not exactly sure if palletizing automation is best for you? Begin with intelligence.

Among the most significant obstacles suppliers deal with prior to buying automation is unpredictability. Will it suit my plant? Will it manage my items? Will the numbers really help my procedure? These are reasonable concerns, and they are worthy of actual solutions prior to any type of dedication is made.

That is exactly what Robotiq IQ is built for.

IQ is Robotiq’s AI-enabled platform made to take suppliers from very first inquiry to deployment-ready Workcell quicker and with higher self-confidence. It is not a sales device. It is a design and service recognition system that offers you the details you require to make an educated choice.