Cama says fully digital control and packaging-industry-specific robotic technology define best practice in secondary packaging.
Following enhancements to its existing highly digital infrastructure – including improvements to class-leading digital twin and virtualisation solutions – Cama Group’s top-loading secondary packaging technology is now even more capable of addressing the high-flexibility packaging requirements of a wider selection of industries.
These advances in digitalisation, coupled to Cama’s in-house-developed robotic pick-and-place technology and advanced vision systems, mean that end users can maximise the total cost of ownership. The top-loading range – with its wide-ranging flexibility and adaptability – is capable of fulfilling packaging routines and processes that would, in the past, have required multiple separate installations.
Our Breakthrough Generation underpins our answer to these needs; with its modular, hygienic and highly customisable design. As technology has evolved, so have our machines’ designs, as we leverage contemporary automation technology and advanced mechanical designs. This early decision to go as “digital as possible” has certainly paid off for both us and our customers as we both realise the benefits of a fully interconnected and easily reprogrammable automation infrastructure.
In operation, the robot-equipped top-loading packaging lines can accept a wide array of in-feed formats, while delivering multiple out-feed options, either in parallel, concurrently or batch-specific. The modular design of the BTG solutions means that additional modules can be added easily, to increase the robot count, to boost throughput. This flexibility is compounded by changeover routines that often take a fraction of the time compared to industry norms. By using HMI re-programmable servo systems, digital twins/virtualisation and RFID technology, we have significantly reduced changeovers in terms of both time and effort. Users get it right the first time, every time in no time at all.
Vision systems also play a critical role in the efficiency and flexibility of the packaging cycle. Cameras and vision solutions can be deployed in numerous roles including robot guidance, in-feed and out-feed quality control and traceability. The level of deployment and integration is balanced in relation to customer demands and the level of sophistication, capability and data capture required.
Our in-house robotic solution has been fine tuned over the years to work in perfect harmony with vision systems; and this tight integration is illustrated by the pick speeds and accuracies we can achieve. In addition to robotic guidance, quality control is another major beneficiary of the contemporary vision solutions we deploy.
Tightly integrated vision systems are also an essential facet of any traceability system, such as those deployed in the pharmaceutical sector. In addition to accurately identifying and reading the individual product codes you need a means to apply code to secondary packaging either using a printer + label or a print direct to package. Then, once applied, the efficacy of the print needs to be confirmed (legibility and orientation) before passing the data to robust storage and dissemination systems capable of liaising with MIS and enterprise systems. Unlike other machine builders that rely heavily on third parties, this is all managed by us internally. We have partners, but we also have the knowledge and competence in house to design, manage and install these systems, giving our customers a single point of contact.
Learn more visit our website page: www.camagroup.com
Image credit: Cama
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Kiran Grewal
Editor, International Confectionery
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