Robot prototyping in the design of food processing machinery

Purpose – Aims to show how robots can be used to prototype and prove key handling operations during the design of food processing machines. This can reduce both development time and costs. Design/methodology/approach – A number of examples of the use of robots during the design of food processing machinery are presented in the areas of product handling, product manipulation and product packing. In each example simple grippers were mounted to robots allowing complex manipulations to be performed and rapidly tested allowing a favourite to identified. Findings – Finds that robot prototyping and proving allows mechanisms to be assessed rapidly and at low cost and reduces the number of design modifications needed before final production. Research limitations/implications – Provides examples of how the technique can be used in all stages of food production, particularly the grasping of products considered difficult to handle. Practical implications – Provides a method of reducing the development cost of new food processing machinery and allow key operations to be proved without the need to construct full prototype machines. Originality/value – Introduces the concept of using robots to prototype and prove operations found within food processing machinery. The paper is of value to both researches investigating the handling of food products and manufacturers of automation for the food industry.