Cama connects with ABB’s robotics teams to deliver key productivity gains for its machine lines

Italian equipment group Cama has recorded key success in its automation collaboration with B&R, part of ABB, to develop advanced industry solutions, including for the confectionery sector, writes Neill Barston.

As previously reported in our headline, the company has made significant investments in its recently established headquarters near Milan, which has seen significant progress in the development of machinery for the food and beverage industry.

Since its founding in the early 1980s, Cama has established itself as a key supplier of secondary packaging equipment, with a policy of investing 5% of its annual turnover in technology; together with its industry partner B&R has also been producing technology since 1979, specializing in robotics, automation and software.

According to Cama, the combined expertise of both companies has ensured a high level of innovation in their operations, as exemplified by a recent press event at the company’s headquarters where an improved version of the MTL Monoblock Top Loading system was unveiled. It will be showcased at the upcoming Pack Expo in Chicago, November 3-6.

“Finding the right partners is quite a challenge,” explains Cama CEO Daniele Bellante, “because you have to share the same values ​​and goals. Sustainability is our slogan at Cama. Not so much in terms of environmental sustainability, as we produce no emissions and are not energy intensive, but rather sustainable in terms of durability. We offer added value by consolidating shared values ​​over time, and this requires a strong focus on people. At Cama we produce machines, but we also produce people: investing in our staff to sustain the company over time. This is the only way to strengthen your market leadership position. It’s people who make the difference, and all partnerships are built with people.”

“For B&R, we seem to have found a winning solution: an ergonomic, flexible and modular machine designed to integrate the MTL Monoblock Top Loading system; This latest generation equipment has transparent covers for maximum visibility and optimal hygiene. Intuitiveness is a key pillar of design: this is fundamental because the product’s target markets are characterized by varying skills and potentially high staff turnover.

“This is a very interesting and complex solution,” explains Cama sales group director Alessandro Rocca. “It also uses augmented reality to access maintenance, replacement and spare parts that can be ordered directly from the tablet, which also enables predictive maintenance. As a result, this solution requires less human intervention, thus reducing the risk of human error. Interestingly, this solution also saves time, reducing the setup time from 30 to 12 minutes! Our technologies offer real added value and our approach is holistic and customer-centric. This means that we attach great importance to the needs of our customers.”

Using B&R’s magnetic guide system, the company added, the MTL top loading system has been improved to enable the delivery of a monoblock that can handle three or more raw materials feeding similar products with different timings.

According to Cama, this has resulted in a reported increase in productivity with a reduced footprint. The solution allows for the separation of process stations, optimizing product flow and cycle times; Processing times have also been optimized and the control panel has been simplified, making commissioning and maintenance faster and easier.

Additionally, Vlady Martino, B&R’s Global Industry Manager for Packaging, explained the testing being carried out during the development of the improved system, which the company believes will have a significant impact on the industry.

He said: “The challenge was the high throughput and the distance the products had to travel – up to 14 meters. In this sense, speed and dynamics become really important. In this case, we proposed ACOPOStrak for many reasons: it is an extremely efficient magnetic shuttle solution: each shuttle can achieve a speed of 4 m/s and an acceleration of 50 m/s2. The system is modular, which ensures the scalability of the machine; It also has a clear design that allows for easy maintenance by disassembling the shuttle without tools. To achieve the customer’s goals, we used simulation native to the B&R programming system to optimize the layout, number of shuttles, and duty cycle. At this stage, the customer can make any changes before the equipment is available. So we have what we call a “co-creation” process. Impressively, the simulation produces a result consistent with actual behavior on the final hardware. The co-creation process is made possible by combining a variety of skills, and that’s why it’s people who really make the difference.

Annalisa Bellante, vice president of Cama, confirms this: “We have always strived to be one step ahead, with a large team of young people dedicated to research and development. We have a holistic approach to work, which allows us to be innovative in our products, with particular emphasis on the environment (we design increasingly sustainable packaging) and social policy. We create relationships with our suppliers based on ethics and we care about corporate social responsibility, investing in society, seeing the return in the region. Corporate governance involves taking global action and focusing on local issues, with an emphasis on gender equality. This is our way of working and provides the framework by which we select our partners.

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