According to a market research report by Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies entitled Trends in Food Processing Operations, half of the companies surveyed will be increasing their level of automation over the next three to five years. Despite this, many manufacturers admit they don’t know where to start. Here, Nigel Smith, CEO of industrial […]
In September 2017, VDMA increased its growth forecast for the current year for German robotics and automation from 7% to 11%. The industry is also booming internationally. With this positive outlook and numerous innovations ready to be shown, the world’s leading companies are going to meet at Automatica in Munich from June 19 to 22, […]
Fanuc UK has launched a new robot for cleanroom and food-handling environments. The M20iB/25C has been specifically designed to ISO Class 5 standards, bringing automated picking, packing and handling to applications for which hygiene and cleanliness are paramount. As well as incorporating Fanuc’s drives and controls, including advanced servo technology – which can increase cycles […]
Highly commended at the 2017 PPMA Group Industry Awards for robotic innovation, an automated turnkey installation from end-of-line automation specialist Brillopak has provided McVities with a flexible, small footprint, multi-line palletising solution that has paid for itself within 15 months through reduced labour costs. The seven Brillopak C2 KT400 robotic palletisers, located on a mezzanine […]
Ocado Technology, a division of online supermarket Ocado, has revealed a new robotic system capable of picking a wide range of grocery products from the 50,000 different items available on Ocado.com. The new system uses a proprietary computer vision system designed by the Ocado Technology robotics research team to calculate grasping points for a given […]
The new MOTOMAN GP7 and GP8 food grade robots from Yaskawa are a good example of the drive to apply the benefits of increasingly sophisticated automated handling and robotics solutions to the widest possible range of applications, including the food industry. The GP7 and GP8 robots are designed to meet the specific requirements of food, […]
Brillopak director David Jahn has highlighted the potential crisis farmers, produce and soft fruit packers and meat packhouses face with a hard Brexit and how automated case loading can help to counteract the loss of EU seasonal labour and curb rising costs. Between May to September each year, more than 28,000 EU workers come to […]
Brillopak has chosen PPMA 2017 as the setting for the UK premiere of its new fresh produce punnet loading line, Meteor. It is the first food packing end-of-line system in the UK to integrate Omron’s new four-arm Delta robot, Quattro – said to be the fastest and most dexterous robot in the world. OEM Brillopak […]
There’s never been a better time for food and drink SMEs to invest in robots for the workplace. Sales and exports are booming, and robots are more powerful than ever. Paul Wilkinson, Commercial & Information Systems Manager at Pacepacker Services, examines the current challenges of the food and drink industry and details how robots can […]
Mitsubishi pictures the factories of the future
Factories populated by autonomous vehicles delivering parts and sub-assemblies across the shop floor, robots working alongside human operators to assemble customised products – all scheduled automatically by live orders placed online. While this is a utopian vision of manufacturing for many and there are certain industry sectors where the journey to smart manufacturing is a […]
Mitsubishi Electric puts robot control on the PLC rack
The increasing modularity of PLC components means that in principle life has been getting easier for systems integrators of late, with the ability to implement complete automation systems on a single backplane. However, with a host of new PLC modules making it feasible to implement full control of a complete production line without ever leaving […]
Mitsubishi extends range with first collaborative robot
At SPS IPC Drives in Nuremberg, Mitsubishi Electric demonstrated production in an Industry 4.0 environment, including a new collaborative robot, working together with an operator without safety barriers. The launch of the new collaborative MELFA robot marks the company’s first dedicated development in the area of Human-Robot Cooperation (HRC). Mitsubishi Electric says the new collaborative […]
Universal Robots launches next generation cobots
Universal Robots is continuing to evolve its ground-breaking, collaborative automation technology with the introduction of its new flagship e-Series cobots. This new collaborative robot platform includes technology advances that enables faster development for a wider variety of applications. Improvements include the ability to economically address even more applications, thanks to greater precision and sensitivity provided […]
Igus highlights robolink ReBel joints for mobile applications
The new robolink ReBeL joints from Igus can be used for robotic tasks in the workplace and in the private sector. They are particularly suitable for mobile applications in which a robotic arm is mounted on a moving platform. The robolink ReBeL joint a cost-effective flyweight with which 6 DOF robotscan be implemented. This prototype […]
AMRC highlights collaborative robotics research
Engineers at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) are leading the way in collaborative robotics research in a drive to help SMEs integrate the technology onto factory floors. Collaborative robots – also known as cobots – differ from conventional industrial robots in that they feature technology that allows them to operate safely […]
Robotics and automation solutions: RARUK Automation is a long established expert in the supply of a wide variety of industrial robot and automation solutions for a myriad of customer applications. Among
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Robotics is the future for the food and drink industry
According to a market research report by Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies entitled Trends in Food Processing Operations, half of the companies surveyed will be increasing their level of automation over the next three to five years. Despite this, many manufacturers admit they don’t know where to start. Here, Nigel Smith, CEO of industrial […]
Food and beverage solutions at Automatica 2018
In September 2017, VDMA increased its growth forecast for the current year for German robotics and automation from 7% to 11%. The industry is also booming internationally. With this positive outlook and numerous innovations ready to be shown, the world’s leading companies are going to meet at Automatica in Munich from June 19 to 22, […]
Brillopak and Omron highlight smarter factories
In food produce environments and packhouses, the benefits of automation when it comes to workforce health and safety are uncontended. From eliminating arduous and repetitive tasks to working uninterrupted within inhospitable chilled settings, robots are most certainly the future. Case loading specialist Brillopak and industrial automation pioneer Omron explore how smart robots, hardware and software […]
Brillopak and Omron highlight smarter factories
In food produce environments and packhouses, the benefits of automation when it comes to workforce health and safety are uncontended. From eliminating arduous and repetitive tasks to working uninterrupted within inhospitable chilled settings, robots are most certainly the future. Case loading specialist Brillopak and industrial automation pioneer Omron explore how smart robots, hardware and software […]