While automation of the meat sector has always proved difficult, progress is being made. Matt McDonald caught up with Tony Randall from SMC to hear about the latest steps forward in this area.
It may sound obvious, but no two cows are exactly the same. While they may look roughly alike, they come in a range of sizes, shapes and weights. And because of this, the meat industry has always proven particularly difficult to automate.
But in recent times things have started to change.
“New technologies have come along – the likes of vision cameras where you can actually pick up where the product is before you go in and actually use automation. In the past you didn’t know what position the product was in,” Tony Randall, Head of OEM & Key Accounts at SMC Australia/New Zealand told Food & Beverage Industry News.
Another factor that has traditionally made abattoirs difficult to automate is their strict wash down requirements.
“They can run up to 20 hours a day and the other four hours is spent washing with high pressure steam. Every nook and cranny is washed and unfortunately that’s where
the automation products are,” said Randall.
“They get hosed down, so whatever we put in the business has to be smooth surface stainless steel to avoid bacterial build-up.”
Historically, there was a lot of aluminium and steel used in abattoirs, which raised the issue of corrosion. To deal with this, SMC has developed stainless products that suit such harsh environments.
In particular, Randall pointed to the CG range of cylinders. “These are made with 304 stainless steel with a round, clean design. They are very cost-effective and we have large stock holding of the units to support abattoirs in country regions, where stock’s a big issue.”
In addition, he said, the company offers an IP69K solenoid valve bank to drive the CG cylinders. Both products can handle high-pressure, caustic wash-downs without a problem.
“In the past, they used standard aluminium cylinders which suffered a lot of corrosion. So [with these new products] the breakdown periods are much shorter. And in an abattoir when you have a breakdown the line literally stops,” said Randall.
The major benefit of these latest products is that they offer a much longer working life and fewer breakdowns. “Typically in the past, before we had that IP69 valve bank, we’d be interrupted by breakdowns due to standard valves not being able to handle the washdown environmant,” said Randall.
SMC products are used throughout the production processes, from the knocking box, ground and overhead conveyors, right up to the packaging machines where the meat is boxed, lidded and put out for delivery.
The future
Because of the nature of the product and the different bone structure of each animal, there are still limitations to full automation.
“Typically, you’re using manual labour to cut products. To get a robot or electro pneumatic automation to do that is incredibly difficult because first of all you’ve got to see where the product is,” said Randall. “Then you’ve got to get your cutting equipment into position.”
Asked about the future of automation in the meat industry, Randall said there will always be opportunities to automate in the red meat sector and SMC is working closely with a variety of OEM’s by offering newer technologies and specialist equipment to support automation.
He also pointed to Industry 4.0 and wireless technology, which could support lowering of installation costs throughout the production and packaging areas.
“We’re developing a technology where the use of cable will slowly disappear and it will be wireless connectivity to our products,” he said.
In addition, there is also a trend towards using lightweight pneumatic products on electric robots due to the robots carrying capacity. “We’ve developed [cylinders] that are smaller and lighter but can give you the same force,” Randall said.
THE PRODUCTS
CG5-S stainless steel cylinders:
Made from stainless steel, this range of cylinders can handle the regular, intense cleaning that characterises the meat industry. In addition, they use food-grade grease, which reduces the risk of contamination.
In order to make them smooth and prevent the build-up of foreign matter, the bracket surfaces that are used to mount these cylinders are electro polished.
The series CG5-S stainless-steel cylinder is available in eight bore sizes (20mm-100 mm). Further features include plugs for unused mounting threads (to prevent residue build-up in the threads),
as well as a scraper, which is specifically designed to prevent water from entering the cylinder.
According to the company, this can increase the service life by up to five times, compared to conventional cylinders.
IP69K manifold
Part of the SY 5000 range, the IP69K manifold can handle intense washdown and cleaning. For better control, users can install the manifold outside of a protective box and close to the actuators. On top of that, the device comes in a small package and is lightweight.
The manifolds are available with options of rubber or metal seal valves. Pressures from 100 to 700 kPa are achievable in the rubber seal, with the metal seal operating at up to 1000kPa. The compact unit also comes with an optional power saving coil that draws as little as 100mW.