Unipick robots make a case for convenience

Published: 22-Aug-2018

Responding to demand from packhouses for an automated solution that would enable them to pick multiple SKUs and present different pack formats, ranging from flow wrapped apples, to punnets of grapes, Brillopak offers its Unipick P160 high speed case and crate packer

Marking a step change in automation performance, Brillopak’s P160 Unipicker packs product into crates and cases at high speeds, averaging more than 100 packs per minute.

Two three-axis robot spider arms individually place each pack one by one gently into a retail crate.

Highly dexterous, with a reach of 1130 mm, this gentle handling helps to prevent bruising and damage to delicate and perishable fresh items, while ensuring that store presentation standards are maintained.

Designed to handle tray seal punnets, flow wrap and vertical form fill seal products, including fruit, vegetables, packaged meats, grated and solid cheese and ambient products, David Jahn, Director at Brillopak notes: “For many products, single pack picking is the safest and fastest way to meet a convenience store retailers’ specified case loading patterns and deliver good presentation."

Incorporating two Omron three-arm Delta robots, both with quick release end-of-arm robot heads for different product types, packing operations can flex quickly to multiple product types and sizes, resulting in a quicker return on investment.

The machine’s compact footprint, 3.2 metres by 1.5 metres, makes it an estimated 15% smaller than any other dual robot layer-based automated handling system currently on the market.

For optimal efficiency, the cell can be integrated with a Brillopak crate destacker and palletiser. Depending on the application, ROI for the P160 can be between 1 and 3 years.

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