How an Italian Flour Producer Automated Finish-of-Line Palletizing in 5 Days

Handbook palletizing is likely one of the commonest, and most missed, inefficiencies in meals manufacturing. It occurs on the finish of each packaging line, shift after shift, and since it has at all times been accomplished by hand, it not often will get flagged as an issue price fixing.

However the prices are actual. Operators performing repetitive lifting all through a complete shift develop persistent again ache. Throughput is capped by how briskly an individual can bodily transfer. And as manufacturing volumes develop, the one answer obtainable with out automation is to search out extra individuals prepared to do a bodily demanding job in a labor market that’s turning into more and more troublesome to rent from.

That was precisely the scenario at Molino Merano, a flour producer based mostly in Merano, within the Trentino Alto Adige area of Northern Italy. With as much as 80 workers and a broad vary of premium flour and grain-based merchandise for each industrial and retail markets, Molino Merano had constructed a robust popularity for high quality. However as one among its key packaging strains grew in quantity, the handbook palletizing course of on the finish of that line was turning into more durable to maintain.

There was no room within the current crew for a devoted palletizing operator. Hiring was troublesome. And the bodily toll on the individuals doing the work was noticeable. One thing needed to change.

Discovering the proper answer

The trail to automation began the way in which many industrial automation initiatives do at a commerce present. Sebastian Obrist, Technical Supervisor at Molino Merano, was evaluating choices when the crew found Robotiq.

What stood out wasn’t simply the expertise. It was the deployment mannequin.

Many automation initiatives take months typically longer from first dialog to a working answer. Integration complexity, customized engineering, security infrastructure, and coaching necessities all add time and price that make the funding really feel unsure, particularly for a producer that can’t afford to disrupt manufacturing for an prolonged interval.

The Robotiq Palletizing Workcell (PE20) provided one thing totally different: a collaborative robot-based Workcell designed for quick deployment, simple operator adoption, and real-world flexibility with out fencing, with out scanners, and with no prolonged integration mission.

From discovery to a working Workcell in 5 days

After choosing the PE20, Molino Merano moved shortly. Components have been delivered inside every week, and from that time, the clock began.

Meeting, wiring, and commissioning have been accomplished in three to 4 days. Last testing occurred on day 5. By the top of the primary week with tools on-site, the palletizing cell was operational and working product.

“After set up, meeting, and commissioning, it was all accomplished in 4 days. On the fifth day, we did the testing and it labored.”

Sebastian Obrist, Technical Supervisor, Molino Merano

That velocity was not unintentional. A key consider quick deployments like that is having the mission correctly validated earlier than something ships. Robotiq’s IQ platform which features a Match Verify, Workcell Simulator, 3D scanning functionality, and ROI calculator permits producers to verify if the Workcell will work of their particular setting earlier than set up begins. Cycle instances, attain, pallet configurations, conveyor layouts, and website constraints are all verified via simulation, so there are not any surprises when the tools arrives.

What the PE20 truly does at Molino Merano

The answer put in at Molino Merano is greater than a robotic arm stacking bins. It’s a full Palletizing Workcell designed across the realities of the manufacturing ground.

The PE20 at Molino Merano features a vertical interlayer and an built-in good infeed, which collectively enable the Workcell to deal with a number of SKUs throughout Molino Merano’s broad product vary of various flour varieties, totally different package deal sizes, totally different pallet configurations with out requiring important changeover time between runs.

The collaborative facet means the answer operates safely alongside operators with out fencing or security scanners, maintaining the footprint compact even on a manufacturing ground with restricted area. And since operators can change pallets whereas the answer continues palletizing, the road by no means has to cease for a pallet swap.

For a facility that had been doing all of this by hand, the distinction was rapid.

What modified after palletizing automation

Three months after commissioning, the outcomes at Molino Merano are concrete and measurable.

The again ache is gone: Operators who spent their shifts manually lifting and stacking bins not do this work. The bodily toll that gathered over years of repetitive handbook dealing with has been faraway from the job totally.

The road can scale with out hiring: Manufacturing volumes on the road have elevated, and Molino Merano has not wanted so as to add a single individual to the palletizing operation. The PE20 absorbed the elevated workload which is especially important in a labor market the place certified employees for repetitive handbook duties are more and more exhausting to search out and retain.

Operators are doing extra invaluable work: Employees who have been beforehand tied to pallet stacking now have time to contribute elsewhere on the manufacturing ground. The automation didn’t eradicate jobs it redirected individuals towards work that’s much less bodily demanding and extra significant.

The funding paid again for itself shortly: The mixture of labor financial savings, throughput enhancements, and operator reallocation produced a fast return on funding. A robust consequence for any tools buy, and a compelling case for different meals producers evaluating automation for the primary time.

Learn the total case examine

This publish covers the highlights, however the full Molino Merano case examine goes deeper together with an in depth breakdown of the problem, the answer elements, the outcomes, and solutions to the commonest questions producers ask earlier than investing in palletizing automation.

Unsure if palletizing automation is best for you? Begin with IQ.

One of many largest limitations producers face earlier than investing in automation is uncertainty. Will it slot in my plant? Will it deal with my merchandise? Will the numbers truly work for my operation? These are honest questions, they usually deserve actual solutions earlier than any dedication is made.

That’s precisely what Robotiq IQ is constructed for.

IQ is Robotiq’s AI-enabled platform designed to take producers from first query to deployment-ready Workcell sooner and with larger confidence. It isn’t a gross sales software. It’s an engineering and enterprise validation platform that offers you the data it is advisable make an knowledgeable determination.