Fatronik-Tecnalia creates a robot of manipulation for the agri-food industry

The Fatronik-Tecnalia Research Centre is an engineering supplier of automation solutions with high value added for handling and Assembly tasks based on Robotics latest generation. Recently, the Research Center has promoted Roboconcept, the company that will market Quattro, a handling robot, patented by the Centre in 2005, with a capacity of acceleration and braking five times higher than that of a formula one, make it "world leader in terms of production capacity". According to the company, Roboconcept will have two types of customers: the end-user and integrator of large plants. In the face to the end-user, it focus on the study and installation of turnkey, robotic cells adapting and responding to the client's needs, and developing new solutions if necessary. Thus, in addition to providing solutions based on the Quattro robot, where the company has a need that can cover any product on the market, Roboconcept develop a new solution adapted to this need.

On the supply side of the company in the face of system integrators, it will be focused on the development of manipulation modules written by own robot, claws and special grip attachments and by integrated vision systems. The company will offer complete solutions of tampered with small parts in production lines that need to manipulate very quickly a large number of pieces.

Quattro is a robot of very high performance for handling type applications 'pick and place' at high speed. The robot has a structure of four actuators that work in a coordinated manner with the aim of achieving the maximum dynamic performance. Large capacity of acceleration and braking, account with a particular structure which makes its speed and acceleration are maximum, increasing productivity by 20 percent with respect to existing solutions, says the company.

Companies that require this kind of cell manipulation, among others those of the food industry, are increasing in recent years. Also, it should be noted that while robots market has suffered in recent years an average of 10 per cent annual increase, the number of robots used in the food industry has grown 30 percent on average in recent years.

As it has advanced the company, sales will mainly be directed to the agri-food sector by the large size of this industry (more than 30,000 companies in Spain), by its growing demand for robotics and automatizacón of processes, and their need for specific and particular solutions.

However, there are a wide range of sectors in which Roboconcept solutions can provide an optimization of the production chain both in speed and accuracy, hygiene and quality. Thus, in addition to the agri-food sector the company will address sectors of cosmetics/pharmaceuticals, automotive, electronics, ceramics or solar energy, among others. In fact, currently already has projects underway with companies from three different sectors: automotive, ceramics and food-processing.

Applications of Roboconcept

-Filling of trays with product (weight minimum statistical)

-Classification of product by characteristics (color, size, sex and freshness)

-Control of quality (color, shape and breaks)

-Feed flowpack machine for different types of product

Some examples:

-Placement of chocolates in boxes of individually

-Packaging of tablets of chocolate/turron

-Packaging of biscuits individually or grouped

-Quality control in production of vegetables (combined with a system of colour vision)

-Packaging of peppers

-Packaged bar of lips

-Diverse product food (fish, meat, CDs,...) to flowpack machines

-Packaging of baby wipes