CASE
Fast and precise pick-and-place of chocolate pralines
A new robot cell with a vision system and line tracking has increased the pick and place rate at Chocolat Frey to 70 chocolates per minute. And this with maximum precision, even though the chocolates have to be positioned very dynamically in moving blisters.
The challenge
The Swiss chocolate manufacturer Chocolat Frey in Buchs had an outdated packaging system. Eleven rather old robots were used to pack chocolates into different blister packs. The aim was to replace the existing Scara robot cells with a new system with a higher speed rate of up to 70 chocolates per minute.
One challenge was that both the infeed conveyor for the chocolates and the main conveyor for transporting the blisters move continuously. The chocolates must therefore be positioned dynamically from the belt and at full speed into the blister. Another requirement was the integration of the new robots into the existing control system.
The solution
The latest robot and vision technology as well as a control system with line tracking enable smooth and very fast cycles. We chose the latest Stäubli TS2-80 Scara robots with dual line tracking and a Cognex vision system. The blister conveyor belt and the praline feed belt were each retrofitted with an encoder.
In this way, the positions of the blister and chocolates can be tracked precisely, while the high-resolution Cognex camera is able to recognize the position of the chocolates quickly and accurately. All systems are networked with high-speed Ethernet in order to achieve the required cycle rate.
“Although the integration into an existing system meant a certain amount of additional work and flexible planning, it was well worth it. The simple operation and reliability of the system convinced everyone involved within a very short time.”
![[Translate to English:] Greifer mit Saugfläche beim Depalettieren von Leergläsern](/fileadmin/_processed_/7/a/csm_Robotec-Solutions_Depalettieren_Pick-and-Place_Sandro-Vanini_P2010250_96217de5c7.jpg)
