Is there really anyone out there who hasn’t heard of Toblerone, the most famous brand of swiss chocolate? The unmistakable triangular chocolate bar is produced by Kraft Food Schweiz AG in Bern. Now available in individual portions, Toblerone chocolates are handled and individually packaged by ABB robots
People around the world love Toblerone. It's shape - modelled on the most ironic of swiss mountains the Matterhorn - is unmistakeable. What's new is that the three cornered chocolate is now available in individual pieces. These can be enjoyed one at a time, with a coffee or as a little between-meal snack.
ABB robots work on the production line at Kraft Food, stacking full trays of individual chocolate triangles and 'feeding' them into the downstream packaging systems, where each one is individually foil-wrapped.
Kraft Food's goal
Kraft Food asked ABB to provide them with a system that would:
- Automatically feed chocolates to five foil-wrapping machines
- Collect and merge the packaged products for placement in palette containers
- Prevent damage to the product
- Maximize access for monitoring, cleaning, service and maintenance tasks
- Accommodate a three-shift operation
- Use simple component design
- Provide a simple operating system to accommodate frequent changes in personnel
An ABB IRB 6600 robot, with a reach of more than three meters, transfers each container to a separating station.
ABB solution
ABB's design concept for the complex and strictly specified system paid particular attention to the transfer of the chocolates from trays to the feed conveyor for the wrapping machine. If the chocolates were to fall during this procedure, they would cause -machines to shut down. The chocolates must be precisely positioned to ensure optimum wrapping performance
ABB's solution divides the overall job into several subtasks
Containers carrying trays filled with chocolate pieces are stacked on pallets and sent to an unloading station. Here, an ABB IRB 6600 robot, with a reach of more than three meters, transfers each container to a separating station. The trays are removed from the stacks and placed, several trays at a time, on one of two unshackles 2. A conveyor belt below each unstacker delivers the lowest tray to a transfer station.
The tray is pulled from beneath the chocolates so gently that they end up precisely arranged on the conveyor.
Trays filled with chocolates are picked up by an IRB 2400 robot at each of the transfer stations. To enable individual wrapping, the chocolates must remain evenly spaced when they are transferred onto the conveyor. To achieve this, the tray is pulled from beneath the chocolates so gently that they end up precisely arranged on the conveyor. This handling process is much more precise than manual transfer and also prevents the product -being damaged.
After wrapping, the chocolate pieces are picked up by bucket conveyors that merge the product on a central collection conveyor, which runs along the entire length of system. At the end of this conveyer, the chocolates are collected in a large container. The delectable Toblerone chocolates are then ready to be delivered all over the world!