Technical article

Safety and reliability at the end of the production process

End-of-line automation: modular cooperation ensures 100% availability.

Automating the end-of-line area increases the profitability of manufacturing companies and solves personnel problems. However, smaller companies in particular need flexible solutions - for example, when different goods are produced or human intervention is needed from time to time. The Bizerba end-of-line solution meets these requirements. It is open, flexible and scalable and allows full control of the production process. High-quality Bizerba components ensure reliability and low operating costs.

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Safety and reliability at the end of the production process

ccepting goods, checking, labelling, and packing them in boxes: in many small and medium-sized manufacturing companies, some of these work steps are carried out by people at the end of the production line. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing shortage of staff. Providing planned quantities of goods, in tested quality and perfectly packaged in time for transport, has become a major challenge for companies.

Control of the production line at all times – despite automation

The Bizerba end-of-line solution meets these requirements. It is open, flexible and scalable; it allows full control of the production process and reliably ensures the delivery of goods. Because the solution offers an open environment, humans can intervene at any time, to take on tasks or work alongside the robotics. In addition, Bizerba end-of-line solutions are flexible, because the degree of automation can be adjusted to the specific process and the diversity of goods. Depending on requirements and the situation, the modular cooperation concept can be either fully automated, semi-automatic, or operated manually. The solutions are scalable for production capacities of up to 100 packs per minute (ppm).

Dissolving and merging: the automation of two core processes

What is a cobot?

A cobot (short for "collaborative robot") is an industrial robot that works in close proximity to – and with – people. To avoid injuring their human "colleagues", cobots have sensors that automatically switch them off when they hit obstacles. This means that humans and cobots do not need to be separated from each other by protective devices in the production process.

The product handling components of the Bizerba end-of-line solution automate two key processes relating to product flows in the packaging area: the taking of product samples and the single-lane processing of packaged goods - for example to weigh and label them - and the merging of goods from mono product flows and packing them in conveying units such as boxes or cartons. The solution adds every desired component to a production line, from a checkweigher to an X-ray inspection system, and from a price labeller to a camera inspection system, as well as a cobot-based (collaborative robot) case-packing unit for crate or carton handling. In order to find the best possible and most economical solution for a company, we take into account the entire production process, give comprehensive advice, and work with the customer to develop an individually tailored end-of-line solution.

High-quality components, service and maintenance from a single source

Because the complete line of the end-of-line solution consists of products from Bizerba and selected partners, the highest levels of reliability and quality are guaranteed. The provision of services and spare parts comes from a single source, so that operating and maintenance costs can be kept low. Thorough quality testing of the products is also ensured, because Bizerba has an extensive portfolio in the field of inspection systems, from checkweighers to metal detectors and ultra-modern X-ray and camera inspection systems.

Despite being high-tech, Bizerba end-of-line solutions are user-friendly. After training and a certain amount of familiarisation, customers can adjust the system to new packing processes themselves, even without programming support. This reduces dependency on external assistance.

Smart monitoring and recording of production processes with BRAIN2

The Bizerba BRAIN2 industry software package offers full transparency and can be combined with the End-of-Line Solution. It makes the entire process transparent by automatically carrying out audits, recording the quality and performance of the production. The results are shown on a dashboard and also give information on the use of system components. Adjustments can be made if a step or a module is not economical. Through this, you can ensure that the end-of-line solution always works with maximum efficiency and achieves its ROI as quickly as possible.

Conclusion

We established:

For virtually all manufacturing companies, the automation of the end-of-line area is no longer a question of "if" but of "when". Compared to full automation with robot cells, modular, scalable solutions with cobots ensure 100% availability and security for delivery. In addition, because of the proven quality of all components, end-of-line solutions from Bizerba ensure high reliability and a long service life.