From a machine builder’s point of view, robots can solve many processing/packaging line problems, but at the same time, there are certain applications where conventional equipment performs just as well—if not better. For example, a candy bar packaging line has been making the same bars for years with few changes to the product or the packaging line. Conventional equipment has wrapped the bars and filled the cases for years—so why reinvent the wheel?
But with today’s fast-paced and short product lifecycles, candy, snack and nutritional bars may be here today and gone tomorrow; their sizes and shapes change, their labels change according to the art director’s new design or changing allergen information, and the number and variety of bars going into cases change as well. So why use robotics?