Stäubli offers systems for food-grade handling, inspection, and packaging, particularly for bakeries. Source: Stäubli
When you have baked goods for breakfast, think of robotics. Like other sectors, the baking industry faces challenges including labor shortages, market pressures, and evolving customer expectations, as well as growing demand for variety and healthier options. An increasing number of baking operations are facing those challenges by optimizing their production processes with robotic automation, noted Stäubli International AG.
By supporting responsive, cost-effective production, Stäubli said it can help bakeries meet shifting market demands and stay competitive without compromising on quality. The Pfäffikon, Switzerland-based company offers four- and six-axis robots including robotic arms designed specifically for sensitive environments, as well as automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and collaborative robots.
Duncan, S.C.-based Stäubli North America has more than 200 employees supporting connectors, robotics, and textiles customers. It also supports customers through its locations in Queretaro, Mexico, and Novi, Mich. In addition to round-the-clock customer support, each of these facilities offers training and has dedicated on-site technical experts who can be deployed whenever needed. Stäubli’s North American sales force is located strategically on the West and East coasts, and it also serves Canada and Puerto Rico.
Robots adaptable for baking and food
As a market leader in food industry automation, Stäubli Robotics said it offers baking automation systems to boost efficiency, throughput, and safety while enhancing flexibility. The company asserted that its compact, hygienic robots integrate easily into production lines, adapt to diverse product types and formats, and support rapid changeovers.
In addition, Stäubli’s systems can automate cutting, slicing, portioning, decorating, and handling of unwrapped dough, finished baked goods, and boxes, including palletizing.
The company said its hygienic, high-speed industrial robots are widely deployed across the food industry, serving diverse applications that demand precision and compliance. In baking environments, they automate processes such as pick and place, inspection, and sorting.
Stäubli added that its HE series robots are designed to resist aggressive washdown procedures and enable both operational efficiency and food safety compliance.
The HE robots are designed for easy accessibility, cleanability and decontamination. Source: Stäubli
Stäubli to demo integrated systems at IBIE
Stäubli plans to exhibit at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) at the Las Vegas Convention Center from Sept. 13 to 17. It invited baking industry professionals to explore how its food-grade robots can combine safety, efficiency, and precision.
Stäubli will demonstrate its TS2-60 HE robot (see video below) integrated with Oxipital AI’s VX2 system for advanced robot guidance and product inspection. The system will bulk-pick bread products from a bin, with each item precisely identified through Oxipital AI’s vision-guided technology.
Once selected, the products will undergo AI-powered inspection to detect defects. Acceptable items will be placed onto a conveyor for packaging, while defective products will be diverted into a separate chute for further processing.
The robot will then use conveyor tracking, enabled by Stäubli’s VALtrack control software, to pick each item at the end of the line and return it to the bulk bin for recycling, completing a fully automated loop. Stäubli Robotics said it will show how its AI-powered robots are shaping the future of baking at West Hall Booth 1064.
