Robotic helping hand

Earthbound Farm, an innovative company that grows, packs and ships organic produce, used to case pack clamshells by hand. They finally replaced the traditional operation with automation in April 2012, installing four ClamPAC? robotic systems from Adept Technology to do the job. As expected, this new technology gave them the dexterity and throughput they needed. Moreover, it enabled the company to design a new, more environmentally friendly clamshell that requires very gentle handling. The results proved satisfying, the company added four more units.

“We explored several suppliers offering robotic systems. Adept was the only one we found that had a product that could withstand our rigorous sanitation routine,” said Joe Torquato, director of Engineering at Earthbound Farm. “Our new robotic packaging systems improve the consistency of our throughput, which helps position us for continued growth. The technology is gentle and accurate; it reduces product damage and enhances the presentation of our clamshells in the case. It helps improve our work environment by eliminating a highly repetitive task. The labour cost savings gives us the ability to make this change that has widespread benefits.”

The ClamPAC is the first fully integrated robotic solution to be pre-engineered to case pack clamshells. Each system is modified to the customer’s needs, an approach that cuts down on the customer’s total cost of ownership since it minimises integration complexity and deployment time whilst providing the flexibility, dexterity and speed of a world-class robotic solution.

“Food processors like to find a single source supplier that handles the entire process,” said Mr Torquato. “Adept took on that accountability. They handled everything including our empty boxes.
They learned all our SKUs and became very intimate with our process. They set the systems up to handle our clamshells and each case packing configuration. They integrated their systems with our plant control network so we can control the operation remotely and gather data for reporting purposes. The integration went very smoothly.”

“Our robotic case packing systems consistently handle the clamshells more gently than laborers did and much more gently than our old drop door case packers. Transitioning to the Adept systems gave us the gentle handing we needed to redesign our clamshells,” addedMr Torquato. “We used to have a shrink band on the clamshell, which we wanted to eliminate to take PVC out of the environment. Our new patented clamshells feature a lid that’s sonically welded to the tub. The Adept system is gentle enough to lift the clamshell by its lid and not break the easy-open perforation.”

Soft grip conforms to clamshell shape
One component of ClamPAC that contributes to the system’s gentle handling at high speeds is the design of its SoftPIC? grippers. Selected specifically for each customer’s range of products, these grippers are made of soft silicon that conforms to the shape of the clamshell and provides a direct vacuum path to the product. For lines that handle multiple clamshell sizes or designs, the SoftPIC grippers can be changed in less than two minutes.

“The ClamPAC systems nest the flanges of the clamshells during case packing. This keeps the clamshells in a better position so they are less prone to damage during transportation. It also allows us to put the same number of clamshells into a smaller box, which reduces packaging materials,” said Mr Torquato.

The first four ClamPAC systems at Earthbound Farm are case packing 5 oz clamshells filled with an assortment of washed lettuces into six- and eight-count cases. “ClamPAC tracks the box coming into the system and actually begins to fill it whilst still in motion. That’s one way the system achieves its very high speAir Max