HMIs play key role in cobot/robot palletizing application

A human machine interface — or HMI for short — is a control terminal on machinery to let operatorsmonitor machine functions and adjust them as needed. This interaction is through a graphical user interface (GUI)that allows communications to and from supervisory controls and machine HMIs.

HMI hardware consists of compact controllers with embedded functions, usually in the form of ruggedized touchscreens such as LCDs with tempered glass and cast-aluminum frames or even sealed enclosures for outdoor applications or indoor plant applications where oil, dirt, and machining byproducts are present.

Today’s HMI technologies include increasingly flexible setups as well as ever-increasing resolution. There’s also been an uptick in affordable touchscreens and steady replacement of resistive displays with capacitive ones. These capacitive displays are used in medical and food-and-beverage applications needing bezelfree designs, as they’re sleeker and allow sterilization and easier cleaning. Solid-glass capacitive touchscreens also last longer than HMI hardware based on resistive technologies, because the screens don’t use pressure points to form circuits, so don’t wear or lose sensitivity over time. What’s more, many HMIs with capacitive displays have the multitouch capabilities of smartphones, which lets OEMs leverage user familiarity to offer intuitive interfaces.

Newer HMI designs now offer advanced connectivity options as well as signal and data processing capabilities. This means that HMIs only a few years old are being superseded by new HMI software and hardware systems capable of supporting IoT functionality. These new HMIs let operators make more use of plant and machine data in increasingly automated operations.

One recent example of a robotic application highlights the important role the HMI played in the selection process. Nestlé recently installed two units of CoboAccess_Pal, an industrial, safe and easy-to-use cobotic palletizing solution from Sidel, at their site in Orbe, Switzerland. By automating the palletizing of their Special.T capsules, Nestlé Suisse SA Orbe gained higher pallet quality while offering increased ease-of-operations for their workers. The latter benefit was ensured by the solution’s automation platform; based on the combination of PC and PLC, it allows better-controlled trajectories for improved cobot picking and placing.

Nestlé Suisse SA Orbe was looking to use cobotics or collaborative robotics palletizing, an innovative Industry 4.0 technology. They required a robust, precise and user-friendly cobotic solution. Cédric Rey, Fill & Pack Maintenance & Improvement Manager at Nestlé, describes the implementation: “At our Orbe site, best in class pallet quality is absolute key, as our cases with the tea capsules are very light, long, and narrow. This is why accurate case placement on the pallet and tight layers are major requirements to guarantee pallet stability, given that products are moving through the complete supply chain, respecting their full integrity and ultimately ending up in consumers’ hands without any damage. We also needed to ensure the safety of our operators so it was imperative that the same level of safety would be maintained after switching from manual labor to a cobotic technology, ensuring that the solution is working safely with no fences around it. For us, the user friendliness of the new cobotic solution was extremely important as well: for instance, an intuitive navigation of its HMI was a must.”

At the Orbe site, two cobotic palletizers have now been installed downstream along two Cermex SW21 compact side-loading case packers. What’s more, CoboAccess_Pal’s HMI is well suited to meet the customer’s requirement for a user-friendly solution. Based on an intuitive tablet approach to navigation, the HMI facilitates the daily jobs for Nestlé Suisse SA Orbe operators, as they can access Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and maintenance sheets for easier and faster trouble shooting and root cause analysis. Sidel made sure to get the safety of the CoboAccess_Pal objectively validated by Apave in addition to the equipment’s full compliance with European Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. CoboAccess_Pal always performs case handling above the conveyor or the pallet station, which ensures that cases never fall on the floor, therefore adding to maximum protection.