Increased manufacturing flexibility
01
01 PickMaster 3 software directs the
FlexPicker (IRB 360) robots to pick and
place pancakes, even if they overlap, into
stacks.
02 RG Luma project engineer Jeff Davies
instructs a Honeytop employee.
“The robots have
already enabled us to
absorb a number of
overheads, thanks to
a reduction in labor
costs and improved
productivity.”
William Eid, Co-founder and Director,
Honeytop Specialty Foods
overheads, thanks to a reduction in labor
costs and improved productivity.”
Each one of Honeytop’s final pro-
duction lines uses four IRB 360 robots,
PickMaster 3.2 software and four IRC5
controllers from ABB Robotics. The IRB
360 FlexPicker robots are known for their
speed and efficiency, but also their re-
liability and flexibility. The robots are
mounted above the conveyor and ar-
ranged so that each one is able to han-
dle a quarter of the production.
Advanced, user-friendly software
ABB’s groundbreaking PickMaster 3.2
software simplifies programming for the
whole process, allowing users to model
for applications and to optimize multiple
robot installations. The software not only
helps Honeytop to monitor the total num-
ber of picks but also to quickly change
production from one product to another,
depending on the client’s requirements.
RG Luma has also provided Honeytop
with a secondary control system which
works alongside the PickMaster 3.2 to
vary the out-feed conveyor speed, pre-
venting overflows or short stacks.
Four-gigabit Ethernet cameras are in-
tegrated with the PickMaster 3.2 soft-
ware, with a camera mounted in front of
each robot to locate every individual pan-
cake’s position on the moving conveyor
below. The image is then communicat-
ed to the robot, and the PickMaster 3.2
software tells each robot precisely which
pancake to pick. These robots track the
pancake position, then pick and place it
22
ABB robotics 2|10
onto the central out-feed conveyor, and
the stack pattern is then gradually built
up by the four robots. (Videos of the Hon-
eytop system in action can be found at
www.youtube.com/abbrobotics.)
RG Luma designed the software so
that it could recognize overlapping prod-
uct, and – for the first time ever – Flex-
Pickers are able to pick a pancake which
has overlapped on top of another one.
The final stage of the production line
requires the pancakes to be checked by
operators before entering Honeytop’s au-
tomated packing and labelling machine.
The pancakes are ready for delivery.
An adaptable solution
Andrew Jones, RG Luma’s Sales Director,
says, “After three weeks of production, a
brand-new product was introduced in less
than an hour without the need for any new
investment from Honeytop.” The versatil-
ity of the production line has dramatical-
ly reduced the changeover time between
each different product. “That makes it
much easier for Honeytop to meet its con-
stant deadlines whilst always maintaining
the high-quality pancakes that their cus-
tomers demand from them,” he says.
For Jones, this installation is a terrif-
ic example of how companies can ben-
efit from robots. “Honeytop set us a
challenge,” he says. “Working with ABB
Robotics, we were delighted to provide a
solution to that challenge which has giv-
en them both improved productivity and
improved quality – and it paid back in
less than a year.”
02
RG Luma
Automation
A leading supplier of custom
robotic and automation solutions for
the food, automotive and defense
industries, RG Luma Automation
Limited specializes in picking, pack-
ing and palletizing applications.
For more information, check out
www.rglumagroup.co.uk.