HOW CAN ROBOTIC AUTOMATION HELP THE MILLING INDUSTRY?

Automation of a packaging line process is easily the biggest trend we are seeing at Magnum Systems for the milling industry.  While the common push used to be to reduce manpower or injuries, today the reason seems to be more “because we can”. We caution, however. Just because we “can” drive 100 miles an hour does not mean we “should”.

Magnum Systems prides itself in pushing “smart automation” by helping the customer automate the filling line where it makes sense and for the right reasons.

Automation can start with a bag placer putting empty bags on a filling machine and end with a pallet, stretch wrapped and ready for a fork truck to pick up. But “smart automation” is taking a look at each step of the process to decide if the good outweighs the bad.

WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF ROBOTIC AUTOMATION?

• Food Safety:  No humans around the bags during the filling and sealing process, minimizes the chances for contaminates entering the finished product.
• Quality Control:  No humans around the filling scale, metal detector, or check weighing scale increases the consistency and accuracy of these devices and also allows for capturing and reporting of data from these devices.
• Speed:  The tortoise won.  A human run line is faster, for a while, but it’s a long race.

WHAT ARE THE NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF ROBOTIC AUTOMATION?

• Automation can be difficult with change overs:  Want to run 3 different size bags on the same line?  If you are not careful, you can spend more time re-calibrating the line than running it.
• Automation performs best with consistency:  The quality of your empty bags and how they are received is very important.  You will find out that “automation quality bags” do exist and do come with a price.
• Multifunction’s:  Automation slows or get more complicated with each additional function the line is supposed to do  ( fill bags and boxes)

We find when we are talking to customers about automating a filling line, that the middle of the line (sealing, check weighing, metal detection, and printing) is the easiest to do and offers the most “bang for the buck”.  Then the end of the line comes next (palletizing and shrink wrapping) because filled and conditioned bags usually meet the consistency requirement, but this area usually has the biggest price tag.  This leaves the beginning (empty bag placing) which we term as our “blind man” area.  The criteria being: if a blind person can sit in a chair, grab bags and place them on a filler all day long without any help and without having to feel around for the bags or filler, then automation has a high probability of working in this area.

For more information on Robotic Automation Click Here.

Submission By: Brad Schultz | Director of Sales