Robot automation takes the edge off cake slicingWhen Bedford based machine builder Newtech was looking to develop a fast and accurate cake cutting machine for the bakery industry it combined an ultrasonic cutter with a robot for an efficient and flexible solution.Cutting cakes can be messyCakes, in particular, are notoriously difficult to cut reliably: machines tend to be time consuming to set up for different cake sizes, depths and portion numbers, whilst traditional cutting technologies can result in uneven, messy cuts and unacceptable levels of damaged product.Newtech's innovative adoption of ultrasonic cutting technology, giving best-available cut quality that can cut cakes to the highest levels of precision, working flexibly for different portion sizes and quantities, and eliminating problems of damaged product.Compact working areaThe solution offered was built around a Mitsubishi RF13 13kg payload, six axis robot, mounted within a stainless steel cell. One of the fastest robots in its class, the RF13 is also highly dextrous, being capable of reaching all the way behind itself and also very close to its base, giving a highly flexible and compact working area.The robot is controlled via the Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC iQ Platform. The iQ Platform is a multi-functional automation environment which incorporates Q series PLC control and uniquely, an integrated robot controller within the same rack. This removes the need for a network connection to a traditional external robot controller, which means that communication exchange between the PLC CPU and the robot controller is handled across the rack, increasing speed, data throughput and reducing robot setup times.Network integrationA CC-Link network is used to connect other machine control components such as a Mitsubishi Electric inverter drive and a dedicated Mitsubishi Electric WS safety controller providing a totally integrated machine control solution. A Mitsubishi Electric GOT2000 HMI provides a user interface where operators can select different cake recipes and set parameters such as product height, portion size, total number of portions and trim size. The GOT HMI also acts as a teach pendant for the robot via dedicated screen templates within the HMI.All products are programmed and configured using the Mitsubishi Electric iQ Works integrated engineering environment, which speeds up design and development, reduces commissioning times and eliminates "double entry" of tag data via its common database. The result of the robot integration is the newest model in Newtech's robot range of machines, delivering the ultimate in flexibility for cake portioning within the bakery industry. The in-line format machine provides a compact, multi-product platform. The high-speed ultrasonic blade offers precision, clean cutting as standard, even on the most detailed of cake products.Self-cleaningAn innovative feature of the machine is a cleaning tank to wash the ultrasonic blade. During the cleaning cycle, the robot takes the relevant blade to the cleaning tank, and a series of water jets spray both sides of the blade. The blade is then dried as the robot passes it through an air blast."Working with Mitsubishi Electric for the robot integration made the whole process easy," comments Newtech managing director Steve Rawlinson. "The high capability robot, combined with a full automation product offering, all with the same software package, made it simple to integrate the robot into the machine. This enabled us to take advantage of ultrasonics for precise, neat, damage-free cake cutting."See more details hereSee application on YouTube
