At the PPMA Total Show, Brillopak will unveil the P180 Spider Arm Robot Cell which loads and presents packs of fresh produce in retail crates.
Brillopak’s P180 system has recently been chosen by three of Morrisons fresh produce and fruit manufacturing sites to ensure that packs look good on their supermarket shelves. The P180 is a fully automatic pick and place packing line able to handle any type of fruit, salad and vegetables packed in VFFS, tray sealed and flow wrapped bags weighing up to 1kg.
As experienced at Morrisons Rushden, Thrapston and Gadbrook sites, the P180 delivers improved in-store fresh produce presentation and can be easily adapted to handle reusable and renewable packaging formats. With only one multi-skilled person to manage the system, it helps to reduce headcount and improves OEE by increasing packing speed, reducing rejects and less front to back end bottlenecks. Incorporating a four-axis Delta style robot with a glove-like end effector, there is no risk of piercing packs. Once the packs are lowered rapidly, yet gently, into trays at very high speeds, the crate passes over a vibration panel to settle the packs so they don’t get caught when the bale arms close – If the bale arm is damaged, the crate is rejected and returned to the start of the packing process for reprocessing. This also ensures perfect pack presentation.
Jason Kelly, head of operations for Morrisons Manufacturing has led the automation strategy across their fresh produce business. He said: “Brillopak clearly understands the manufacturing environment and how critical production schedules are to getting fresh produce packed and looking good on the retail shelves.”
As reported on packagingnews.co.uk, Brillopak look forward to meeting fresh produce packers at their stand K110 to explore the latest automation innovations in pack handling.
