INNOVATION THROUGH AUTOMATION

Case Packing

bag cheese case packing machine

About Case Packing Machines

Production efficiency is measured from the total time it takes from start to finish – that means taking into account the time and speed needed to get products ready to ship. With more and more production lines using highly automated systems to turn out products, it’s becoming increasingly important for the packaging portion of the process to see the same throughput benefits that automation provides to the production side.

To bring those automation benefits to the packaging portion of the process, MWES has developed a number of turn-key case packing solutions that can reduce reliance on using human workers to fill cases. These systems can pack secondary packaging in a variety of case patterns at speeds of up to 180 products per minute.

Using machine vision and easily updateable programming, MWES case packers can be quickly changed over for other product configurations. The machines can be up and running in as little as a day and are designed to fit within the space currently used for manual packaging processes.

For more specialized situations, MWES can custom-develop systems to address these operations. We have the wherewithal to provide efficient solutions that increase throughput and quality based on decades of automation experience and dedicated automation engineering staff on hand.

Drop-in Packaging Productivity

Speed and consistency are key to successful consumer packaged goods product production. Both of these metrics have everything to do with how difficult it is to find and retain a quality workforce that can keep up with the increasing production speeds that automated food processing machines can achieve.

Until now, robotic systems weren’t the best choice for filling these needs due to food product bag packaging’s inconsistent shapes and orientation. That all changes with MWES’s blend of best-in-class robotic vision systems and high-speed, pick-place robotics. Now, these systems can nearly flawlessly package between 120-160 packages per minute.

The bag pack-out system automates the packaging operations that are typically found in food products like soup mixes, frozen vegetable packaging, meat products and more. In many industries, these products are picked off a production belt by operators and hand-packed into shipping boxes. This process can be one of the more labor-intensive operations in the production system. But the speeds are usually more than a single operator can handle. As such, this operation can become a production bottleneck and a point where errors could occur.

Multiple Case Packing Solutions for Most Applications

Fitting in a compact footprint, the MWES pack-out system is comprised of either two or three pick-place robots (depending on configuration) encapsulated in its own ridged structure. These robots move products between integrated conveyors that are adjustable in width to fit a variety of product sizes and secondary packaging sizes.

The machine’s structure also houses all of the control hardware and power routing for the system and is shipped as one complete system. Although there will need to be some routing of conveyor lines from current production systems, all that’s needed in terms of installation is the ability to bolt the system to a properly rated floor, a power drop, airdrop and Ethernet connectivity. This configuration provides a stable and compact system that requires very little time to set up on the shop floor. Most times, machine start-up can happen in as little as a day.

Two-Robot Case Packing Systems

bag cheese case packing machineMidwest Engineered Systems offers its robotic case packer systems in a two-robot configuration for applications with a moderate amount of throughput. The two robots combined can pack at a rate of up to 80 bags per minute and offers all of the features of larger systems including a trainable machine vision system and easy, menu-driven control that allows operators to update the system to new bagged product sizes without the need for specialized training or certification.

The system’s self-contained design houses everything that the cell needs to operate aside from power, air and Ethernet connection. The essentially drop-in system can be positioned with a suitably sized forklift on the production floor. Once utilities are hooked up and conveyors from the customer’s existing manufacturing system are routed, the MWES case packer system can be up and running in as little as a day.

Three-Robot Case Packing Systems

The larger of the two systems, Midwest Engineered Systems offers its robotic case packer systems in a three-robot configuration for applications with greater throughput needs. The three robots combined can provide case packing operations at a rate of up to 120 bags per minute and offers all of the features of advanced systems including a trainable machine vision system and easy, menu-driven control that allows operators to update the system to new bagged products without the need for specialized training or certification.

The system’s self-contained design houses everything that the cell needs to operate aside from power, air and Ethernet connection. The essentially drop-in system can be positioned with a suitably sized forklift on the production floor. Once utilities are hooked up and conveyors from the customer’s existing manufacturing system are routed, the MWES case packer system can be up and running in as little as a day.

Custom Case Packing Systems

MWES recognizes that not all applications can be automated with off-the-shelf equipment. For custom applications with a larger size or weight products or the need for even faster throughput, count on MWES’s nearly 30 years of automation design, development, building and installation to solve your case packing needs.

As a technology and vendor-agnostic provider of automation solutions, MWES can design a system that integrates with previously designed systems and with machines and programming that’s supportable by your current workforce. Further, having the ability to take projects from development and design to construction and installation, MWES is highly experienced in building systems that not only integrate with current systems but can also fit in more challenging footprints.

Benefits of Case Packing Systems

The MWES engineered, turn-key pack-out system has a number of benefits for the consumer products production facility from increasing production speeds to packaging quality and repeatability, to ease of implementation of an automated system.

Standard Case Packing System Dimensions

The dimensions of the MWES Standard Case Packing systems are as follows:

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