Vision Guided High-Speed Robotic Pick And Place Cell For Chocolate Packing Line

A High-Speed Robotic Pick and Place Cell using vision guidance to pick randomly placed chocolates from a conveyor and place them into the cavities of a moving tray. The system is capable of handling various types of chocolates in multiple tray formats.

Operation Description:
An operator manually removes the chocolates from the upstream machinery, and visually inspects the chocolates before manually placing them onto the infeed conveyors of the Triple Robot Cell. The chocolates are transferred into the cell and a camera-based vision-guidance system detects the position and orientation of each chocolate. The vision system also detects the size and shape of the chocolate and rejects the chocolate off the end of the pick conveyor if quality standards are not met. Chocolates that pass quality specifications are transferred into the pick position.
Trays are received from the upstream Tekpak Twin Tray Denester. The two lanes of trays are tracked along the tray transfer conveyor through each of the 3x Pick and Place Robot Cells. As the trays enter each cell, the 3-axis delta robot uses its rotational axis and venturi vacuum gripper to gently pick the chocolate and rotate it to the correct orientation. The chocolate is then accurately placed into the tight tolerance of the tray cavity with a high degree of precision and repeatability.
Each robot cell places the correct number and chocolate type into each tray as specified by the operator-selected format on the HMI. At the end of the tray transfer conveyor, a camera-based vision system verifies the correct number and placement of chocolates in the tray. Unverified trays are rejected into a reject station for visual inspection by an operator. Verified trays filled with chocolates are transferred to the Tekpak downstream machinery.

The system includes:
· Triple Robot Pick and Place Cell
· 3-Axis Delta Robot with Rotational Axis on the Venturi Vacuum Gripper
· Format Adjustable Tray Transfer System with Tracking
· Infeed Conveyors with Sensors and Manual Loading Stations
· Camera-Based Vision Guidance System for each Infeed Conveyor
· Overflow System for Rejected/ Unpicked Chocolates
· Camera-Based Vision System to Verify the Tray Contents

General Technical Specification:
· Stainless Steel 304
· Food Grade Components
· GMP Design Features
· Fail-Safe Sensors
· Safety Control System
· Ergonomic and Intuitive HMI

The Tekpak full end-of-line solution includes the Twin Lane Tray Denester, Triple Robot Cell, Tray Verification and Reject Station, Tray Stacker, Cartoner, Overwrapper, Labeller, and Accumulation System for Manual Case Packing.

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For more information contact
Tekpak Automation Ltd
Whitemill Industrial Estate,
Wexford, Y35 A620, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0) 53 916 3033
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.tekpakautomation.com