Case Opening, Robotic Vision Packing and Sealing Line for Meat Products

An end-of-line packing cell that opens, vision-packs and seals cases for five packaged meat products, at 5 cases per minute.

Client Hormel Foods
Meat and Protein Products
Region China

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Client Background

Hormel packs a range of packaged meat products, and the end-of-line step — opening the shipper case, loading the packed product and sealing the case — sits after a primary packaging process that is already fully automated. Five product variants feed the same end-of-line cell. Their pack geometries differ enough that a fixed mechanical loading pattern would need dedicated tooling per SKU, which is not workable for a cell that has to switch between them during the production day. The cell also sits in a chilled environment, so construction, contact surfaces and condensation handling are part of the specification rather than an afterthought.

Challenges

Five SKUs with different pack geometries

Five product variants share one packing cell, and their pack shapes differ. A fixed mechanical loading pattern would need dedicated tooling per SKU, so loading had to be made geometry-independent.

Chilled environment and hygiene requirements

The cell runs in a chilled area around packaged meat products. Contact surfaces, washdown capability and condensation on moving parts all have to be designed in, not added later.

Low line speed means accuracy is the performance limit

At 5 cases per minute this is not a speed-limited application. Placement accuracy, seal quality and the absence of product damage decide whether the cell performs — so the robots are programmed for gentle, repeatable placement rather than maximum cycle rate.

How ZRAY Solves It

The line is deliberately short and built around the vision system rather than around hard tooling. **Case opening station.** The RSC shipper is erected and the bottom seam closed in line, so the cell always receives a case that is square and ready to load. **Robotic vision packing cell.** A camera locates the incoming packs and the robot places them according to the active SKU recipe. Pack geometry differences are absorbed by the vision system and the recipe, not by change parts — which is what allows five SKUs to share one cell. **Case sealing station.** The loaded case is sealed in line. Because the case was formed squarely at the head of the cell, the sealer sees a consistent seam and does not need to compensate for a distorted case. **Recipe-driven operation.** Each of the five products is stored as a recipe covering placement pattern, count per case and sealing parameters. Switching SKUs is a recipe change, and it does not require the operator to touch the mechanics. **Hygiene and condensate handling.** Contact parts are specified in food-grade materials with washdown capability, and moving elements above the product path are arranged so condensate cannot drip onto the packs.

Single-Piece Carton & Case Erector Machine

Up to 35 Trays/Min |

View Details

Case opening station RSC shipper erected and bottom seam closed in line.

Robotic vision packing cell Camera locates each pack; robot places it per the active SKU recipe.

Case sealing station In-line sealing with consistent seam quality.

Recipe set for 5 SKUs Placement pattern, count per case and sealing parameters per product.

Washdown food-grade construction Food-grade contact parts and condensate-safe routing above the product path.

Project Results

5 cpm

Case packing speed

5 SKUs

Product variants handled by the vision cell

3 modules

Case opening + robotic packing + sealing

Project Timeline

01

Product survey and placement study

The five pack geometries reviewed and a geometry-independent placement strategy defined for the vision cell.
02

Cell design and build

Case opening, vision packing and sealing modules built as one cell, with food-grade contact parts.
03

Factory run and FAT

Cell run on representative product across all five SKUs at the ZRAY plant.
04

Installation, commissioning and training

Cell integrated into the chilled packing area; operators trained on the five recipes.

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