Food retailer Morrisons installed two automated crate loading potato cells from British packing automation company Brillopak at its fresh produce depot in Rushden, Northamptonshire.
Since the devices were installed back in 2019, Brillopak has reported the processing of 66 million kilograms (145 million pounds) of potatoes per year at the facility.
The loading cells, known as UniPaker, are designed to improve productivity and efficiency by orientating packs at a quicker rate than human workers and with increased accuracy.
“With the level of air that’s in potato bags it was hard to conceive that a robot hand could load crates at such speed without popping or piercing the bag and damaging product,” said Andy Day, site manager.
David Jahn, director of Brillopak, said: “Previously, pierced bags has been one of the downsides to using grippers on automated case loading systems.
“Additionally, when layer picking grippers or bomb bay doors release potatoes into trays, they are typically dropped in a haphazard way above each tray in order for the tooling to have space to open.
“Not only does this damage the product, the presentation is quite hit and miss. Suctioning polybags of heavier potatoes with varied shapes is equally challenging.
“Because it’s not a smooth surface, bags frequently sag and drop onto the packing conveyor, causing the packing line to stop.
“These frequent line stops have a significant impact on line efficiency and ultimately bottom line profit.”
According to Brillopak, which exhibited at
Robotics and Automation 2022, the solutions were designed to improve product handling, minimise waste and enhance the presentation of pre-packed potatoes. The UniPaker bot reportedly uses a particular automated technique for gently loading vertical form fill and seal (VFFS) and flow wrap bags into retail cases.
What’s more, Brillopak reports speeds of a minimum of 75 packs per minute for each of the cells. The process works by having two UniPAKer systems cradle bags of potatoes weighing up to 2.5kg and then loading them individually into cases.
The installation at the Rushden depot has led to a 90% reduction in labour, Morrisons has said.
Both UniPaker case loading cells are equipped with two high-payload Omron Delta robots, Brillopak claims. Moreover, they were developed to enable simultaneous working alongside each other, with their robotic spider arms loading potato packs into crates in set sequences through programmed orientation.
The degree of dexterity and rotation of the UniPaker solution would not be achievable with a layer-based automated handling system, Brillopak has said.
