Improved coordination Food producers complain about a lack of informa-tion about robot technology and feel left on their own in their decision making. The use of robots has to be aligned with overall production flows and integrated accordingly. Only then it is possible to profit from the benefits of robots. At this point, robot manufacturers, plant builders and system providers should increase their efforts to meet practical needs. These requirements must be met in order to successfully establish robots in the food industry. Efficiency and reliability The advances in automation cannot be overlooked at the Anuga FoodTec show held 24-27 March 2015 in Cologne, Germany. In the future, these “steel colleagues“ of the food industry will be able to do more complex tasks than is the case today. Human-robot collaboration is currently the trend par excellence. It stands for the smooth transition from industrial robotics towards service robotics. Thanks to their torque sensors in all axes, the robots have the necessary flexibility not to hurt people. These should now allow processes to be automated that have not been automatable at all so far. One example is the TX2 series six-axis robots from Stäubli Robotics. They have managed to “integrate safety features that let us realize new possibilities in man-machine collaboration,“ em-phasizes Stäubli‘s Chief Financial Officer Manfred Hübschmann. The closed structure of the robot series and its design with IP65 protection – the wrist is held in IP67 and thus waterproof – pre-destine the TX2 series for use designed to meet cleanroom and hygiene requirements. By expanding their small robotics series, the key players of the industry underline their ambition to grow in markets beyond the automotive industry. 179,000 robots were sold worldwide in 2013. After South Korea and Japan, Germany has the highest robot density: with an average of 261 robots for every 10,000 workers. At present, the global market for robotics is d 22 billion. By 2020 this could grow to more than 60 billion Euros. Ex-perts like Henrik Ryegard, who heads the Robotics Division at ABB, regard the food industry as one of the largest markets – robot density here is still well below the average. Hurdles in food production The main driving force behind the use of robots is economical: the machines replace expensive human labour. So far robots have particularly dom-inated in non-critical areas, such as palletising and packing stations. Five or six-axis industrial robots are ideal tools to do these kinds of monotonous and often demanding tasks in a reliable manner. Special protective covers provide protection under Arctic conditions which prevail in warehouses for ANUGA FOOD TEC Future-oriented topics are also addressed in Anuga FoodTec‘s professional program. The DLG will thus address topical issues in 27 short specia-list forums. Among other things, technical topics will be the focus of attention like hygienic de-sign, freezing technology, the use of robots in the food industry or the detection of foreign material in foodstuffs. Event information: 25 March 2015, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Forum 8 – Robots in food production (Congress Centre North). frozen foods. Other requirements apply for any contact with open foodstuffs. In this case, not only must hygienic safety satisfy higher expec-tations but the mechatronic equipment of the robots as well as other requirements apply for any contact with open foodstuffs. “Pastries, meats, vegetables and sweets vary in quality and size,“ is how Dr. Knut Franke from the German Institute of Food Technologies in Quakenbrück describes the problem in a nutshell. He cites an example: “Automatic fine-cutting of pork requires very sophisticated sensor technology.“ The algorithms that Franke and his team are currently developing for the robot movements should enable automatic cutting of pieces of meat and contribute to a more efficient production of safer meat products in the future. Einfach trayverpacken. Der Traysealer T 300 ist besonders platz-sparend und wirtschaftlich. Mit der robusten Technik, dem MULTIVAC Hygienic Design™ und seiner optimalen Bedienbarkeit ist er die bessere Lösung. Köln, Deutschland 24. – 27. März 2015 Halle 8.1 / Stand D030 AUTOMATISIERUNG AUTOMATION 2015 11
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