US-based ESS Technologies and Xyntek-Antares have joined forces to develop a new track & trace case packing solution, the TaskMate Robotic Case Erector/Loader for the pharma industry.
The system will be integrated with the Xyntek-Antares Turn-key Serialization solution that features the Antares Tracking System software and the Omnivision 360° Bottle Tracking System for serialization and aggregation.
Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers can automate the case packing process, as well as provide unit serialization and track & trace technology for all of the products being case packed, using the system.
According to ESS Technologies, the track & trace technology integrates a Fanuc LR Mate 200iC/5L multi-axis robot with end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) to create a compact and low-cost case packing system.
Vacuum cups on the EOAT robot pick an RSC case blank from a magazine. The case is erected, the bottom is taped closed, and the case is placed in the loading position.
Bottles will be fed to the robotic cell through a conveyor for the Interphex NY demonstration. The serial number on the labeled bottle will be read by Xyntek-Antares Omnivision 360° Bottle Tracking System, which will aggregate it to a 'dummy' code on the bottom of the bottle.
Once the bottles leave the tracking system, they are collated into a 4x3 pack pattern and the robot will pick the entire pack pattern and load it into the case.
An integrated Cognex high resolution smart camera will read all of the bottom codes of the bottle bundle as they are being packed into the case by the robot, before placing the bottles in the case.
The tracking system software will confirm the unique serial numbers based on the pack pattern and print a case label to complete the bottle to case aggregation. The robot EOAT then pushes the loaded case onto an exit conveyor.
The system will handle up to five cases per minute, providing an automated alternative to manual case packing processes and is also suited for integration with track and trace applications.
