CAMotion, Inc. Participates with Cargill in Production Line Trial of ProductPacker" Tray Packing Machine

Computer Automated Motion machines provide faster and more flexible gantry robot performance at a lower price. Patented control software opens new markets for robotics in the food packing industry.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 6, 2004 ---CAMotion Inc. today announced that it has been participating in a live" production line trial of its automated tray packing machine at the Newnan, GA, case ready plant of Excel, a subsidiary of Cargill. The working ProductPacker" system has been in place at Excel since December 15, 2003, and was installed as a joint commercialization project between CAMotion and Georgia Tech's Agricultural Technology Research Program, with support from FoodPAC (an element of the State of Georgia's Traditional Industries Program).

The system at Excel uses a robotic gantry machine to place weighed and price-labeled trays of meat into totes ready for immediate shipment to supermarkets. Cycle speeds as high as 60 trays per minute for up to 6-lb packages are provided. The design uses standard machine parts combined with CAMotions digital controllers and software to allow accelerations of up to 7Gs while maintaining accuracy and repeatability. Operator menus in English and Spanish are provided on the software controlled system.

Jason Prince, project manager at Excels Newnan Case ready plant, says: "The system has exceeded our expectations. Affordable automation solutions for these kinds of tasks are needed to keep our plants competitive and to help eliminate difficult manual tasks from the production process. The casepacker has given us the opportunity to automate the task of placing product into the totes along with performing a final quality inspection on every tray using the inline vision inspection system. This has resulted in reducing the labor requirements on the line while ensuring that our high quality standards are met."

Prince commented on the robots design flexibility. Our business as well as our customers needs are always changing. We have been very impressed with CAMotions ability to adjust to our changing requirement such as changing product codes, tote dimensions, and their ability to pack various tray sizes and packaging formats. They have met every challenge we have thrown at them with success."

According to Gary McMurray, Georgia Techs lead investigator on the trials, the CAMotion design performs at twice the speed of the original prototype. CAMotions high-speed gantry robots incorporate patented software algorithms developed at Georgia Tech. The proprietary control software integrates the benefits of advanced digital controllers, machine vision, and reliable control software to produce rapid and reliable machines based on lighter and less expensive components. The result is a fast and adaptable 'smart robot at a price point far below traditional machine designs.

Founded in 1996, CAMotion, Inc. sells commercial robotic solutions that affordably automate material handling or assembly for companies that process goods in volume and have traditionally required substantial manual labor in their production processes. CAMotion optimized systems are available directly from CAMotion and through integration partners.

More information is available at www.CAMotion.com or by calling 404-874-0090.