How Is Packaging Robot Integrating Innovation and Efficiency in Manufacturing Industry
A few businesses are choosing to automate their processes in response to Industry 4.0, and packaging procedures are no exception. This technique is becoming more and more popular for the same reasons that automation and robotics were first introduced to the manufacturing workplace: to reduce costs, get rid of errors, and release human employees from hazardous packaging task occupations.
Each link in the supply chain, particularly packaging, is being impacted by robotics. In the packaging sector, picking and placing, case packing, palletizing, and product handling all involve the use of robots.
In several industrial areas, including packaging, robotic technology has paved the way and revolutionized the processes. The packaging sector is quite open-minded and eager to explore new things when it comes to innovation. Robotic technologies have even played a significant part for a long time in the packaging business, where artificial intelligence has been slowly establishing itself in packaging production.
The limits of technology are being pushed to whole new heights by automation. Human labor is increasingly being replaced by automated machinery and robots. The latter, unless anything needs fixing, never gets sick or takes time off, can work more quickly than people, and always performs well on the task without making mistakes due to repetition.
Safety Amid COVID-9: Packaging Robot Propels Manufacturing Revolution
In a pandemic, the health of the workforce is the top priority for every organization. Workers in factories should be placed 6 feet apart, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but following this recommendation isn't always easy. Robots in every other position can help ensure that workers keep a sufficient distance from each other, lowering their risk of spreading COVID-19.
One COVID incidence was identified among the 800 workers at Costco's highly automated chicken packing facility in Nebraska. Even while they were probably not the main factor, robots clearly contributed to that number. Robotics have been used to assist prevent COVID infections in other situations as well.
The Danish Crown company, which operated eight meatpacking facilities, employed 8,000 people similarly. They also controlled a sizable number of robots, which assisted them in limiting COVID infections to less than 10. The infection had a harder time spreading because workers didn't have to be in close proximity to one another.
Packaging Robots Rave The Wave
Robotic packaging equipment is typically preferred over humans since it outperforms them in terms of consistency, precision, and speed. Robots may be seamlessly incorporated into the packing and shipping operations, decreasing ergonomically dangerous work, accelerating delivery times, and satisfying the ever-changing packaging requirements of distributors, retailers, and customers.
High-speed packing robots are valuable tools for achieving goals and activities precisely, safely, and productively while also reducing the need for prolonged human participation.
Robotics have been used in the packaging business for purposes other than just preserving worker health in the COVID era. It's possible that packing facilities won't be able to accommodate as many individuals inside the structure as before. With a smaller human workforce, robots have helped them remain effective.
A facility that packs frozen foods discovered that it needed more packaging for a new box design. Around 30% of their production volume is made up of these boxes, thus it's critical to introduce the new layer effectively. They used robotics to maintain their output objectives because they had a restricted number of human labor.
Sales of packaged items soared when lockdowns started, increasing the demand for packaging facilities. In the meantime, many found it difficult to hire new employees due to COVID safety regulations. Companies were able to meet this demand by using robots without endangering human life.
How Are Packaging Robots Being Utilized?
Material handling operations benefit from the speed, accuracy, and productivity that packaging robots bring, which has a noticeable and long-lasting effect on overall production. When packaging robots are used, most businesses experience a significant increase in throughput because production isn't slowed down by how quickly products can be packaged, moved, and/or labeled manually.
Robots for packaging also speed up production. They have much greater uptimes than physical labor, can move more items at once and lower labor costs. Compared to manual labor, packaging robots can accomplish more packaging operations for less money and with more consistency.
In a variety of industries, including the medical sector and industrial production, packaging robots are increasingly used in manufacturing. This has a significant positive impact on manufacturers' bottom lines.
Robotic packing equipment today is more versatile than ever. With robotic packaging equipment that packs, erects, and palletizes your packaging products, they increase your productivity. The following are a few frequently used packaging robots:
Pick and Place
These robotic packaging systems are typically employed in manufacturing, but they are also utilized in bin-picking, packing, and inspection applications.
The key benefits of selecting these robotic packaging systems are speed and consistency. These robotic packing machines are typically lightweight and compact, making them excellent for use in areas where space is limited. They are also simple to program and have a variety of uses.
Palletizing
Tertiary packaging is palletizing. It entails setting up the boxes and getting them ready for transportation, typically by stacking them on pallets. In the food and beverage sector, this use is very widespread. Reduced worker injuries are one advantage of using this robotic packaging technology.
Depanning
If you've ever baked cakes at home, you're probably already familiar with these robotic packaging methods. It can be quite difficult and precise to remove products from pans or containers, such as cooked cakes or pastries. Often, huge pans are used to prepare baked and mass-produced cakes. And in this situation, robotic arms can be quite helpful in rapidly and damage-free removing baked goods like cupcakes or sheet cakes from their pans and preparing them for first packaging.
Denesting
Denesting is the process of removing products from a stack in order to make room for additional items, such as cupcakes or other baked goods. Robotic depanning is done concurrently with the denesting procedure. The procedure is repeated and essential. The denesting procedure removes the stack's package, and the depanning robot adds these baked cakes to it. This is an efficient and rapid task for robots. The main challenge is coming up with a robotic packaging system that can handle a variety of products without taking up a lot of room. Using replaceable conveyors is one option that might be deemed workable, but the cost would be prohibitive.
Boxing
It's time to package the various things in anticipation of shipping. Picking up individually packaged goods and assembling them into various boxes and cases is part of the boxing process. This belongs to the secondary packaging category. The products in the boxes are sealed off from the outside world. As a result, there is no chance of food contamination. Automating this kind of activity is convenient and straightforward. Robotic arms can do this maneuver without causing any damage to even fragile items like eggs.
Warehousing
Following the proper packaging of the products, the warehousing process begins. The final step is to easily transport them in pallets. Food warehouses may benefit from this in terms of competitiveness. The benefits of automated warehousing's speed, efficiency, and safety are especially beneficial to the food business.
However, the process can be extremely labor-intensive, particularly when there are a lot of people involved. To simplify your storage process, you can transfer packed items utilizing Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). The most recent models of robots created for warehousing applications are called autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and you can employ them as well.
Conclusion
Companies that package food have been utilizing robots in their operations for a while. Even if your business is small, you may still employ robots to automate every step of your packing process. This allows your human employees to concentrate more on activities that call for critical thought. Moreover, collaborative robots, which are smaller and more ideal for automating jobs involving modest production numbers, can be used if you cannot afford large industrial robotic arms.