Flexible packaging of confectionery products thanks to cobots

2024-04-04

The Tog.519 cobots from Schubert , the packaging machine manufacturer, are of particular interest to the seasonal confectionery industry. Autonomous robots can be used to automate new packaging solutions quickly and easily. AI-assisted image processing allows robots to pick and place unsorted products without the need for additional programming. This makes cobots exceptionally flexible and allows them to offer confectionery manufacturers many unique advantages.

At speeds of up to 90 cycles per minute, the Tog.519 picks up unsorted confectionery and places it at any destination imaginable, without the need for complex programming.

Even if a company has already automated its processes with packaging systems, packaging confectionery products usually requires some labor. In times of widespread labor shortages, this can cause production bottlenecks. With the Tog.519 cobot, Gerhard Schubert now offers a simple and highly flexible technology to effectively fill these automation gaps. The mobile robot is a completely autonomous system that can be installed at any point in production. Whether autonomous or in a protection cell, alternatively combined to form an entire cobot line or even to complement third-party systems and robots from other manufacturers.

The cobot even allows mixed packaging, like these bars with different flavors.

Picking up unsorted products eliminates the need for pre-sorting

At speeds of up to 90 cycles, the Tog.519 accurately picks up unsorted products and deposits them in the designated position. This is possible thanks to the Schubert image processing system, supported by a trained neural network. It does not require programming, since the cobot “sees” what it has to do thanks to AI. This opens up a wide range of applications, with the pick & place approach to working with unsorted products, immediately making the otherwise time-consuming prior separation of products obsolete. As a result, the entire packaging process becomes more efficient, regardless of whether you are picking naked products such as chocolates, bars packed in flow packs, or bags containing sweets or cookies.

The Tog.519 can also feed fragile chocolate figures into a wrapping machine, with 3D-printed pick & place tools ensuring gentle handling.

For example, the Tog.519 can pre-group products, load the inlet of a flowpack wrapper, feed fragile chocolate figures into a wrapper, fill boxes and trays of all types or create a wide variety of mixed packaging. Customized pick & place tools ensure safe and careful handling. Cobots are ideal for offline applications outside of a packaging line, as well as for manufacturers who typically produce small batches and require a high degree of flexibility for their product range.

Picking up unsorted products using pick & place tools immediately eliminates the need for otherwise time-consuming

pre-sorting of products, increasing the efficiency of the entire packaging process.

Fast and flexible switching between products

Packaging processes carried out with one or more cobots are an agile and comparatively cost-effective solution, especially for end-of-line packaging, which can be quickly adapted to new processes again and again. This is especially useful for confectionery manufacturers who often introduce new products with a short life cycle to the market. During testing phases, Schubert cobots can easily take over the packaging of new products without the need for major machinery changes and without having to immediately invest in a specialized packaging system. This reduces financial risk and offers the option of waiting until the new product is established in the market and the purchase of a larger system becomes economically viable.
In practice, the cobot is also demonstrating its effectiveness in other sectors, such as cosmetics…

In practice, the cobot is also proving its effectiveness in other sectors, such as cosmetics.

For example, here it collects sorted glass bottles from cartons without programming.

In the confectionery sector, Schubert’s Tog.519 is already demonstrating its effectiveness in packaging oatmeal and chocolate bars in cardboard boxes, for single-varietal and mixed packaging. Feeding chocolate figures into a wrapping machine is also being planned. The practical experience gained with the Schubert cobot in other sectors, such as cosmetics and pet food, can be easily transferred to the specific requirements of candy manufacturers. Schubert advises its customers comprehensively before deciding on a cobot packaging solution and, of course, takes into account the entire production process and possible future requirements. This is the best way to assess whether cobot technology can be a sensible and cost-effective packaging solution for the customer.