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

Guide palletizing is without doubt one of the commonest, and most ignored, inefficiencies in meals manufacturing. It occurs on the finish of each packaging line, shift after shift, and since it has all the time been finished by hand, it hardly ever will get flagged as an issue price fixing.

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

That was precisely the state of affairs 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 repute for high quality. However as one in every of its key packaging traces grew in quantity, the handbook palletizing course of on the finish of that line was changing into tougher to maintain.

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

 

Discovering the suitable resolution

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

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

Many automation tasks take months typically longer from first dialog to a working resolution. 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 out a prolonged integration venture.

From discovery to a working Workcell in 5 days

After choosing the PE20, Molino Merano moved rapidly. Elements 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 tip of the primary week with gear on-site, the palletizing cell was operational and working product.

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

Sebastian Obrist, Technical Supervisor, Molino Merano

That pace was not unintended. A key think about quick deployments like that is having the venture 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 surroundings earlier than set up begins. Cycle occasions, attain, pallet configurations, conveyor layouts, and website constraints are all verified by simulation, so there aren’t any surprises when the gear arrives.

What the PE20 really 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 flooring.

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 sorts, totally different bundle sizes, totally different pallet configurations with out requiring vital changeover time between runs.

The collaborative side means the answer operates safely alongside operators with out fencing or security scanners, conserving the footprint compact even on a manufacturing flooring with restricted house. 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 speedy.

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 accrued over years of repetitive handbook dealing with has been faraway from the job completely.

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 vital 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 beneficial work: Workers who have been beforehand tied to pallet stacking now have time to contribute elsewhere on the manufacturing flooring. The automation didn’t get rid of jobs it redirected folks towards work that’s much less bodily demanding and extra significant.

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

 

Learn the total case research

This submit covers the highlights, however the full Molino Merano case research 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 greatest 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 really work for my operation? These are honest questions, and so they 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 quicker and with larger confidence. It’s not a gross sales instrument. It’s an engineering and enterprise validation platform that offers you the data you’ll want to make an knowledgeable resolution.