Cenfra provides 'baking robot' for bread oven
Cenfra
Baking robot
Cenfra, a European centre for food robotics and automation, has provided a solution that 'delivers' bread for Fosters Bakery in Barnsley, UK.
The 'baking robot', designed for unloading and loading a bread oven, is set to increase the capacity of the bakery's morning goods department by 50 per cent - with an estimated two-year payback - and eliminates the repetitive manual operation.
Cenfra evaluated the old robot, which had experienced teething problems because of the sensitive nature of its heat sensors.
The centre's research-and-development team came up with a new design and formulation solution for the robot and supported the re-evaluation and integration of the robot in the bakery.
Following the success of the baking robot, the company has approached Cenfra about another automation project; audits and simulation designs are already being carried out.
According to Michael Taylor, operations director at Fosters Bakery, who is also the chairman of Cenfra, technological advances in robotics and automation offer viable, gainful alternatives for almost any function of the production line.
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