Minitüb

01 the short version

Minitüb, a leading system supplier for reproduction technology in farm animals, was looking for a solution that could standardise and automate packaging. The manual labour was repetitive and monotonous, and could not be performed at a constant speed. The solution was a lightweight, six-axis ur5 robotic arms that could package filled bags at a constant rate and require little maintenance.

02 the challenge

Minitüb had been searching for a complete bag-packaging solution for a long period of time. They needed a solution that could automate packing of the filled bags so employees could work with more challenging tasks. Packaging the bags automatically would also provide a consistent flow of product that was ready to be shipped.

03 the solution

Minitüb introduced a UR5 robotic arms into the packaging line in the first quarter of 2011. The robotic arm has been successfully integrated into on-going production and packages an average of 40 bags per minute.

The robot is placed in front of a conveyor belt at the end of the fill-seal machine, and picks up fresh-bagged products that fall onto the conveyor belt. To enable uninterrupted processing, a gripping tool has been developed which is equipped with five times two suction cups. These are ideal for lifting the bag despite its smooth and soft surface.

The robot also controls the flow of cardboard boxes. When a box is full, the robot will release it, and a new, empty cardboard box will take its place. Further simplifying the process for Minitube employees.