Bread tin store uses 6-axis robots
April 1st 2006

Bakers, Frank Roberts and Sons is investing in an automated bread tin store from RTS Flexible Systems.

The RTS solution will deploy 6-axis robots for the first time ever in a UK bread tin store. The solution promises high levels of material and labour cost savings and a healthy ROI.

To win the order, RTS had to solve the problem of how to automate the loading and unloading of bread tins on two separate bread plants, one producing circa 13,000 per hour. The extremely confined 8ft headroom made it unsuitable for RTS' more conventional Crocus gantry robot solution. Each of the two systems integrates two ABB IRB 6600 6-axis robots with a conventional floor conveyor, and incorporates RTS software. The first robot unloads 4-tin bread straps from the continuous production line. The second reloads the required tin types back on to the line.

The robots will be fitted with a version of RTS' proven magnetic grippers to pick up the bread tins.

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