Robots Excelling In The Food Industry

Posted on 14 July 2019

In the past decade, automation in the food industry has focused on bagging and packing. Fast forward to today, higher demand for quicker and more nimble machines prompted recent innovations. Newer technologies can work towards the front and middle of the production lines to provide rapid pick-and-place operations on individual food products.

Robots are now enhanced for fast function with lightweight payloads and have been exceptionally successful in handling food products. Robotic automation can now bag, debag, convey, palletise, and depalletise.

The robotics and automation implementation in the food sector exponentially improves safety, quality and profitability by boosting process such as monitoring and control with the use of vision systems.

Robotic automation in the food industry represents a comprehensive overview of modern and evolving technologies and their applications in different industry sectors.

There are several key technologies and significant areas of development within the food industry. Most of which include automatic process control, sensors for automated quality and safety control. The development of machine vision systems, bulk sorting and packing, palletising made the food industry sustainable.

While hygienic and tidy production zones are placed highly among food manufacturers, robots used for pelletising is gaining popularity. Palletising robots not only increase production but accomplish complex, repetitive tasks that a human worker couldn’t physically do. Robots help load and unload pallets, cartons, and packages with efficiency; and they work in dangerous environments that are not fit for humans.

Robots can work in severe environments, so where food handled at freezing temperatures, robots can adequately handle this process. Robots are also assembled to function in various harsh environments. A harsh environment considered for a human to work in would be no problem for robots; whether that entails working in a hot or cold location.

Using automation in food production cuts down waste and increases profit because actions like carving are more consistent. Robots can help manufacturers appreciate improvements in situations where precise cuts make the distinction between tainted meat and sellable product.

Food manufacturers and suppliers frequently trade within narrow margins and high-quality standards. When it comes to increasing profit while also providing consumers with an even better product, robotic automation is the perfect fit. Robotic systems are transpiring that can accelerate and restructure all these processes.

As the global population grows, manufacturers who do business out of producing perishables are swiftly becoming aware that implementing this technology is a means of survival and even prosperity. Robots are progressing at a staggering pace, enabling producers and distributors the ability to meet demands while still lowering costs and improving productivity.

Mexx Engineering® can streamline the food & beverage industry using innovative and versatile systems such as: