22 minute read
Automation Technology
LIQUID NITROGEN NITROGEN DOSING
Pressurize light-weight pouches for consistent package stability
• Reduce oxygen • Add rigidity
Since 1958
4 Barten Lane, Woburn, MA 01801 T 781 933 3570 | F 781 932 9428 sales@vacuumbarrier.com
vacuumbarrier.com
Labeling Sensor
Designed for label applying, printing, and converting, Tri-Tronics’ 10mm wide Mini LabelEye sensor can t into small areas. It is a highly specialized gap or slot sensor optimized to sense adhesive labels adhering to a roll of backing paper. Tri-Tronics pwgo.to/7301
Pneumatic Valves
Festo’s manually operated VHEF and mechanically operated VMEF pneumatic valves offer 3/2 or 5/2-way functionality. Flow rates are up to 1,200 l/min, pressure ranges from vacuum to 10 bar. Festo pwgo.to/7262
Level Transmitter
Emerson’s Rosemount 1408H non-contacting radar level transmitter is designed speci cally for food and beverage applications with IO-Link connectivity. Emerson pwgo.to/7303
Photoelectric Sensors
Balluff offers the BOS0285 diffuse sensor and BOS0286 retro ective sensor designed to provide condition monitoring data. Balluff, Inc. pwgo.to/7006
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
CTI Foods Automates Its Hotto-Handle Taco Packaging Line
Tacobots efficiently upgrade and automate production with a unique two-pick mechanical tool. The recent line integration project wins a 2021 Manufacturing Innovation Award from Packaging World’s sister publication, ProFood World.
Labor-saving robotic automation Fully integrated line Clever EOAT
By Joyce Fassl, Senior Executive Editor, ProFood World
There are many different interpretations as to exactly how the popular phrase “Taco Tuesday” originated. But at CTI Foods based in Saginaw, Texas, every day is taco day. The culinary-driven company was founded in the early 2000s by a group of industry veterans, and today, it is owned by a private equity firm and has seven plants throughout the U.S. The 187,000-sq-ft Saginaw facility was built in 2010 and started taco production in 2011.
“We’re mainly focused on high-quality, casual, fast casual and quick serve food products,” states Will Davenport, CTI Foods’ senior director of engineering. “Our plants make a wide variety of products, almost all protein products and cooked meats. We make a dehydrated refried bean right here in Saginaw at the facility next door. We also produce a variety of soups and sauces on-site.”
Producing fresh tacos for major fast food chains and packaging them while still warm was a labor-intensive and repetitive task. In fact, the company employed 16 workers on each shift to manually load filled, soft tortilla tacos into chipboard trays that were also manually formed. The workers would orientate the tacos and load two stacks of 25 into each tray.
“The tacos have always had a very unique packaging orientation, where there’s 50 to a tray,” explains Davenport. “We’re packing them hot, and then, they go through a spiral freezer.” To keep the tacos from misshaping through the freezing process and transit, they were interwoven within the trays by hand. “We were constantly having to shift people from spot to spot to not have a repetitive motion injury,” he adds. Fresh tacos that were once too hot to handle manually are now placed into trays by JLS Talon robots.
At the Saginaw facility, white corn is cooked, washed, hulled, stone ground, and formed into tortillas. “That’s roughly a 12-hr process from the time we start cooking the corn to the time we’re making tortillas,” states Davenport. Next, meat made at an adjacent CTI Foods processing area is ground, mixed with seasoning, and cooked before it is deposited into the tortillas.
“The tortillas go through an oven with about a 40-second retention time, and then, as they exit the oven, they pass by fillers that deposit the meat,” says Davenport. “When they’re packed, they’re a little over 100°F,” he states. “It was not a fun job packing them by hand.” Unique approach to robotic end-of-arm tool
CTI Foods had been looking for ways to efficiently upgrade and automate the taco line and started discussions in 2019 with JLS Automation. “We’ve been familiar with JLS for a long time through different industry connections,” Davenport says. “As we started talking about it [the project] more, and they gained an interest in it, it just seemed like a good fit. They brought what I felt was a different approach to the project.”
The new robotic packaging taco line started production in November 2020. The project had a phased approach, where JLS developed an end-of-arm tool (EOAT) first and brought it to Saginaw to test it on warm tacos. “It was a very manual operation, just an end-of-arm tooling with some push buttons on it,” says Davenport. “We were doing it by hand, but we were able to actually pick up the product. We were able to see that if you didn’t fire that motion just right, it wanted to unfold the taco, or it would make the fold uneven. It was very beneficial to do that test ahead of time.”
According to Steele Burchell, program manager at JLS Automation, the EOAT is a mechanical gripping solution, as opposed to a vacuumbased solution. “It’s what we call a spatula tool,” he says. “The thing that’s really unique about this is it’s actually a two-pick mechanical tool. We’ve got individual actuation of the two different sides. And to my knowledge, I don’t think anyone else in the industry has done or is doing that.”
A warm, soft tortilla with a warm portion of meat is not a stable item to pick up. CTI Foods tried to develop a way to re-thermalize tacos from a frozen or a chilled state to better simulate it at the JLS facility. “We never really could get it back to that same texture during the testing at JLS, but we were able to get it fairly close. It was a very hard thing to simulate,” explains Davenport. “We were trying to run up to 960 a min, so you need a lot of tacos to prove a concept.”
After using the robotic taco line more than a half a year, CTI has seen significant improvements in efficiency and output. In addition, staffing challenges have been reduced by eliminating the manual packing operation. “Our pounds per man hour is up significantly,” says Davenport. “It’s roughly double, maybe a little more.” JLS designed four Talon ro-
Fresh tacos on four lines enter the robotic packaging system at CTI Foods. botic pick-and-place systems, including three IP69K-rated delta robots per unit. The new taco line includes the following equipment: • NCC Automated Systems—custom high-speed infeed conveyors • IESM—taco folding and turning conveyors • Syntegon (formerly Kliklok-Bosch)—tray erectors • Nordson—glue system for trays • B&R Automation—robotic system controls • Cognex—vision system • Sealed Air/Shanklin—tray wrapper • Wipotec-OCS—checkweigher and X-ray inspection • Vemag/Reiser—shuttle conveyor with retracting belt JLS also developed new algorithms for handling three-headed robots, with products going in the same direction as the cartons. “We call it co-flow or parallel flow,” says Burchell. “With more than two heads, it was a very challenging algorithm to develop.” Processors never want to send cartons or cases out of a system unless they are completely full. “The ideal thing is to have as much supply of products as what you want to pick and place into that carton,” explains Burchell. “With the one [carton] that’s just about to leave your system, you always know you’ve got a product to fill it. If lines are running in the same direction, you’re picking things at the first robot. Where you want the supply to be the heaviest is down at the third robot.” Open-frame hygienic design is worth the investment Most equipment manufacturers, including JLS Automation, are up to date on hygienic standards. But CTI Foods developed some of its own standards and wanted to review equipment specs in advance to ensure all equipment was cutting edge in terms of sanitation, and all cleaning
surfaces could be accessed easily. Before installing the new robotic line, CTI removed all equipment from the taco packaging room, deep cleaned the room and equipment, replaced lights, and made cosmetic repairs while it had the opportunity.
“Anytime we can remove manual operations from a process, there’s food safety to manage,” Davenport explains. “Redesigning the [taco packaging] room offered us an opportunity to review all aspects of the hygienic design of the new equipment. JLS was very open and accommodating to all our input and requests to improve the hygienic design.”
Davenport also discussed whether tubular design is easier to maintain and clean. “Hygienically welded tubular framework was the industry standard for many years. However, over time, the welds can fail or holes created in the framework can be contaminated and become harborage areas,” he states. Davenport says an open-frame design is easier to clean, because there are no hidden places. It may cost more in some cases, but CTI Foods decided to make the investment.
The JLS integration project included an open-frame design. “Originally, we were not going to do the open-frame design,” says Davenport. “But after really understanding the differences, we elected to go that route.”
The taco processor also tries to avoid Lexan or plexiglass and go with a more hygienic cut stainless-steel-type guard, which also provides a sight line into the system. After being placed in trays robotically, tacos are overwrapped and then head to a spiral freezer for 4 to 4.5 hr. Automation solves pandemic woes, provides essential data Many food manufacturers faced increased staffing issues during the recent pandemic. Davenport says he can’t imagine the kind of problems CTI would have suffered if it didn’t have the robotic taco line in place. Instead of trying to fill scores of jobs during the height of the virus outbreak, the company now has to fill fewer positions. Social distancing was one of CTI’s first lines of defense on the taco line. “When COVID first hit, we were still packing by hand and had people shoulder to shoulder,” explains Davenport. Each CTI facility was closed for a short period of time. “We were able to get employee separation partitions up before we reopened and put other COVID protocols in place.” Because CTI already had automation plans prior to COVID-19, it was not affected by the long lead times faced by other manufacturers that struggled to install automation at the height of the pandemic. Despite pandemic challenges, JLS was able to meet CTI’s project deadline. Burchell says components like cylinders, which are traditionally available in a week or less, were taking eight to 12 weeks for delivery. “To this day, we’re still doing a lot of virtual FATs [factory acceptance tests], but on this project, on this scale, everyone felt that it was important to do it in person, and that we could find ways to do it safely in person,” he adds. In fact, CTI Foods conducted early FATs, particularly for its ancillary Will Davenport, CTI Foods’ senior director of engineering, would advise others undertaking a similar robotics upgrade project to thoroughly understand all aspects of the existing manual operation. equipment. “The engineering manager went to the FATs and did a video conference call with our team back here,” states Davenport. “We did that with the tray former and the conveyor systems that we bought as part of the package. When it came time to do the main FAT with the JLS equipment, a small team of us did go to York, Pa., to witness that.”
CM
MY
CY
CMY
Under normal circumstances, Davenport says the FAT would have likely included a slightly larger group. “We had representatives from QA, operations, maintenance, and engineering there. We probably would’ve had a safety person and maybe another operations person if we could have, but we were able to do it through a web conference and get those people involved. It worked out really well.”
CTI also brought a tech operator to the FAT and sent another one a week in advance to help assemble and test the equipment to get ready for the FATs. This provided plant floor workers to obtain early training on the equipment
CTI is able to pull data from the four JLS Talons or tacobots, as the CTI team has affectionately named the JLS Talons. The data tells plant management the number of successful picks, if a pick was not successful, and why the machine did not pick it—whether it’s a bad fold, incorrect meat placement, or orientation issue. It allows the taco processor to review data on an hourly or daily basis to solve production issues. CTI Foods uses Redzone for its overall equipment effectiveness programs, as well as Redzone philosophies, such as huddle meetings. Davenport says the focus here is on ensuring CTI is measuring the correct machine actions. In other words, focusing on the right areas, the proper actions to take, and which code faults to reset to make the data easier to understand. JLS also set up remote equipment monitoring for performance evaluation, program updates, and other services. Burchell says the system has a central point that is for remote access, but also serves as the nerve center for collecting data. The NCC conveyor cabinet serves as JLS’s central point of communication, because there’s a conveyor between every piece of equipment. “We’re using that to allow the feeding of some data back to their SCADA systems,” states Burchell.
Turn data into actionable insights
Increase availability, improve quality, and enhance energy management with easy to implement IIoT solutions from Emerson. From measuring critical parameters in your production process, to detecting leaks, to improving predictive maintenance, intelligent pneumatics – such as the AVENTICS™ AF2 series flow sensor – provide actionable insights that enhance decision-making and help optimize the performance of your packaging operations.
Learn more at: Emerson.com/AVENTICS
The Emerson logo is a trademark and a service mark of Emerson Electric Co. © 2021 Emerson Electric Co.
Understand manual operations
Working within the small footprint of the existing taco packaging room was definitely a challenge for this project. “The way JLS approached the project and didn’t look at it as one line, but split it into four separate lines with four separate tacobots, made a lot of sense,” says Davenport.
Looking back, Davenport would advise others undertaking a similar project to really understand all aspects of a manual operation. “We’ve always known that employees are our last line of defense, our last quality check doing a visual observation. A person can do more quality attribute checks than you can do with an X-ray or a metal detector,” he says. When CTI switched to the automated line, it found it wasn’t easy to pick up every action employees were making. Their actions were not obvious. “They were fixing some of the folds or making minor meat placement adjustments. It made product presentation even more important when installing the JLS equipment,” he states.
Davenport says the new line’s advantage is a predictable output. “We know what we’re getting. We know we don’t have to adjust the line, because only 10 of the 16 hand packers showed up. We get better every day with the start-ups and equipment operation. We have no doubt we’ll meet our project objectives. We’re very close to them now,” he says. PW
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Label Precision is Paramount for Fire Extinguisher Products
Even though consumers hope they never have to use Amerex’s products, if needed, the company’s fire extinguishers must be ready to go, with durable labels that provide clear instructions and certification that the product meets critical UL standards.
Labels for fire-suppression products UL Certification Mark
There are many things to consider when designing a product label. From presenting the brand at the point of purchase for a potential or repeat consumer, to in-hand use, every touchpoint requires different levels of information. The graphics and text, in combination with the label substrate and finishing effects, should reinforce consumer consideration and support brand positioning.
This is certainly the case for grocery products. It’s also the case for industrial-type labels that have to provide long-term durability in demanding environments, as well as meet liability requirements and present the brand identity.
There’s a lot of trust at stake for food, beverage, personal care, and health and beauty products—items we use daily. But, what about products we buy with the hope we never have to use, for example, fire extinguishers? They sit next to the recycling bin in the closet, hang on the wall in the garage, are tucked in the trunk of a car, stand six feet away from a welding station at a manufacturing plant, or are mounted on a cart parked at the ready on the airport flight line.
Wherever they’re kept and for however long they wait, when you need a fire extinguisher, it better be ready. And that includes the label, with instructions on the type of fire the unit is designed to handle and how to operate the device.
Amerex Corp. of Trussville, Ala., is recognized worldwide as a leading manufacturer of hand, portable, and wheeled fire extinguishers, along with other fire suppression systems. Though its products are a true necessity, they don’t really lend themselves to a quick “I’ll try that!” opportunity like a candy bar at the checkout. It’s a bit cost prohibitive. Nonetheless, how do you establish trust in a product most consumers have never used, and frankly don’t want to use because it means dealing with an unpleasant situation: fire. For Amerex, that responsibility rests firmly on the label. “We make life safety products, and that’s why trust is the most important element of the Amerex brand promise,” notes Guy Jones, Product Manager – Portable Fire Extinguishers for Amerex Corp. “Our market leadership position stems from the fact every Amerex fire extinguisher is UL [Underwriters Laboratories] certified. And, because UL is recognized as a regulatory expert, that perception provides essential credibility to authorities and the marketplace. This helps promote user confidence by confirming Amerex products have been tested to applicable standards.”
Labels on Amerex Corp.’s line of hand, portable, and wheeled fire extinguishers provide critical instructions on the type of fire the unit is designed to handle and how to operate the device.
Compliance labels require strict standards
Underwriters Laboratories is responsible for developing the standards that guide the safety, performance, and sustainability of products and services worldwide. UL leverages its regulatory expertise for product labeling through its Authorized Label Supplier Program (ALSP), which protects the integrity of the UL Certification Mark. It also deters product counterfeiting, which helps further build user confidence.
According to UL, under the ALSP, each label supplier location that prints and/or distributes the UL Certification Mark is visited four times a year by UL representatives. During these unscheduled visits, an audit of any label in production is conducted, along with a review of the label supplier’s systems to ensure they meet the requirements of the program. In addition, the label supplier must submit samples to UL of all the approved constructions annually so they can be lab tested to confirm the designation still meets all the UL requirements. The visit also provides the opportunity to discuss label printing questions or concerns with UL.
ALG Labels & Graphics of Birmingham, Ala., participates in the ALSP. This allows it to print the UL Certification Mark as well as provide tested and approved material constructions for broad end-user applications, like fire extinguisher labeling for Amerex. ALG has been manufacturing product labels for Amerex for more than two decades.
“Compliance labeling directly impacts the user experience and plays a significant role in strengthening consumer bonds,” says Steve Cramer, Product Manager with ALG. “Our responsibility is to help Amerex effectively market their products and build brand recognition with product labeling. The objective is to combine creative design, effective printing, and innovative material science to produce engineered products that meet the challenges of demanding end-user environments.”
ALG’s participation in the UL label program enables OEMs like Amerex to effectively take their UL-confirmed products to market with UL-approved labeling.
“Any OEM with a UL-listed product needs a UL-listed label or decal,” explains ALG Account Manager Rachael Heiser. “They go together and confirm that UL testing has been performed and that it meets the applicable standards, from the product to the label.
99.9% on-time delivery brought to you by
schneiderequip.com
“The UL-listed label is a key part of the Amerex brand identity. It tells consumers worldwide they’re getting a product that’s been designed and thoroughly tested, and is proven safe to operate. This offers a strong sense of security and directly reflects Amerex’s global commitment to the fire extinguisher industry in the way they care about quality.”
The primary UL label specifications are derived from UL 969 and UL 299 standards. UL 969 is the Standard for Marking and Labeling Systems for all adhesive-backed labels, decals, and nameplates. UL 299 specifically addresses portable fire extinguishers and the necessary labeling. Labels bearing information, instructions, or identification are intended to be used by manufacturers for application to their products. While every UL standard defines the UL label requirements, many UL standards only require meeting the UL 969 standard for labels and decals. Basic UL 969 tests including the following: • Legibility: Label surface rubbed 10 times back and forth. • Defacement: Blunt blade scraping the label. • 10 Day Air Oven: Testing for maximum service temperature. • Carbon Arc: 720 hrs to simulate three-year outdoor weather exposure (outdoor use only). • Cold Box: 7 hrs of testing for minimum service temperature. • Water Immersion: 48 hrs of testing for suitability to high-humidity areas. • Common Agents: (If applicable) 48 hrs of exposure to oil, gas, detergents, kerosene, etc. • Adhesion: After each of the above tests to verify peel values.
Labels use many processes, materials
Labels for Amerex are printed using a combination of processes on different material constructions. The labels carry one to six colors, depending on the design and the substrate. Various grades of facestock are used with a range of laminate options, the combinations of which depend on where the fire extinguishers are deployed. After printing, the labels go through finishing, where the variable barcodes are 100% inspected by way of a video defect system to ensure a passing ISO grade, as well as confirm there are no duplicate numbers.
“Given the wide usage timeline, we understand the critical role trust plays in the consumer’s mind,” Jones says. “This is why we take ongoing measures to ensure product reliability and authentication.”
Over the years, Amerex has executed various brand protection measures with its labels to deter counterfeiting and secure its goodwill. Labels have included ultraviolet and infrared taggant-based inks with visual and audible authentication properties. Today, the labeling on all its products is designed with special tamper-evident features that render the labels physically non-transferable.
“UL takes counterfeiting very seriously,” says Jones. “Knowing that only authorized organizations can print and apply UL labels helps validate Amerex products immediately, giving the consumer peace of mind. Through the anticounterfeiting features of the UL label, our customers can easily identify authentic products. It’s vital that consumers are able to count on authentic Amerex products to meet their fire protection needs.
“ALG has been instrumental in product develop-
53
Pic-N-Place Soft Placement Tandem Case Packer
ment and product intelligence. We have an extremely durable, high-quality nameplate thanks to their product insights, particularly in offshore environments. The 2D code on the Amerex nameplate is an industryleading development that helps our distributors work more effectively and efficiently.”
Out of sight is out of mind, so it’s not unusual consumers don’t usually think about how the environment could affect a fire extinguisher—from ongoing freeze/thaw cycles to moisture, heat, and UV exposure, or harsh chemicals or unknown substances that might come in contact with the label. While consumers most likely don’t, UL does think about all the potential applications and has set the standards to ensure everything is fully intact whenever and wherever a consumer calls on the product.
“Regardless of how long the wait, when you need a fire extinguisher, it better be ready,” says Jones. “And that includes the label, with instructions for the type of fire the unit is designed to handle and how to operate the device. For Amerex, it’s about ensuring our customers can fully trust every one of our products. That’s the Amerex life-safety brand promise, delivering ‘high-quality safety products built to perform and protect.’” —Anne Marie Mohan
The industry standard for reliable operation, quick change-over and versatile product range.
The Model 949 Pic-N-Place tandem case packer picks the product from the infeed conveyor and gently infeed conveyor and gently places it into the bottom of the empty case - places it into the bottom of the empty case The perfect sol The perfect solution for both partitioned and partitionle and partitionless case packing. Designed for 2 Designed for 24/7 production and built to las and built to last for decades.
• Handles 2 case Handles 2 cases at a time • Speeds up to 2 Speeds up to 20 cycles per minute
LEARN MORE AT STANDARD-KNAPP.COM
Standard-Knapp, Inc. Portland, CT USA www.standard-knapp.com
