Piab blog

10/3/2022

The complex road to simplicity

Our R&D department has been working with solutions for Industry 4.0. since 2017; I joined the team in 2020. It might sound controversial, but...

2/16/2022

Choosing the right cobot gripper for cosmetics handling

For the cosmetics industry, placing products into packages is a particular challenge. Today this task is often fulfilled by an armada of workers, but with...

11/4/2021

Ergonomic hazards in the Food industry and how to eliminate them

The food production line is a hazardous one. Therefore, it is extremely important to avoid...

11/2/2021

Respiratory hazards in the Food industry and how to eliminate them

With allergies, asthma, and other conditions becoming more frequent, processors need to implement changes...

5/12/2021

A great internal motivation driver

The X-Factor Interviews – Introducing the people behind the development of the MX Cup! Nicklas Holmgren – Content Creation Manager, Marketing Department – 5 years with Piab.

5/4/2021

We do not copy others, we lead

The X-Factor Interviews – Introducing the people behind the development of the MX Cup! Lennart Ryberg – Global Product Manager, Vacuum Automation Division – 2.5 years with Piab.

4/29/2021

Mapping the gaps of customer needs

The X-Factor Interviews – Introducing the people behind the development of the MX Cup! Johnny Skagersjö – Senior Application Engineer in Automation div. and part of the System Engineering & Research team, with Piab since 2004

4/27/2021

“Lagom” – not the best for something but just right for anything

The X-Factor Series – Introducing the people behind the development of the MX Suction Cup! Gustaf Wigren – Director Product Technology, Conceptual System Design, Research & Development (R&D), Automation Division – 13 years with Piab

4/22/2021

The thinner the lip the better the grip

The X-Factor Series – Introducing the people behind the development of the MX Suction Cup Jonas Herrström – Senior Design Engineer, Conceptual System Design, Research & Development, Automation Division – 8 years with Piab

11/16/2020

New blog post: A gripping story

All stories have a beginning. The story of piSOFTGRIP® started with passion.

6/16/2020

Help for strawberry shortcake lovers

With Piab's combination of conveying, gripping and lifting tools, strawberry shortcakes can be baked quickly and safely packed for transport.

11/14/2019

It’s down to collaboration

Cobots enable greater collaboration between humans and machines. In order to do so, cobots need cleverly designed end-of-arm tools (EOATs).

9/27/2019

Is it safe or even possible to transport dry materials in high heels?

Safety should always come first when you work in manufacturing. Does that mean that you should stay away from manufacturing industries if you love wearing high heels?

5/15/2019

Do you really need to be ready for Industry 4.0 or not?

Ready or not - we have come up with a solution that works for everyone.

11/27/2018

Another product family for the automotive industry

Piab maximizes productivity in the automotive industry with flexible suction cup mount.

9/26/2018

One plus one makes three!

Two years after acquiring Kenos®, Piab develops the perfect small business all-rounder – Kenos® KCS.

6/1/2018

Yet another contribution to Industry 4.0

It is fascinating when you realize that you have developed the right product and the right functionality for the market and customer, even before all of the interest around Industry 4.0 came to light.

1/1/0001

New blog post: At a nutraceutical production site, the operator Anna is responsible for the flow of material in process area A. She starts her shift by entering the material room to pick up the bucket labelled ”tablet press A”, then walks the factory to ascends some stairs to reach a point approximately 6 1/2 feet higher up where from she can pour the powder into the funnel on top of the otherwise fully automated tablet press. She removes the lid and empties the bucket. The dust makes her sneeze. Still sneezing she descends the stairs, slips a little, but manages not to fall. At the bottom of the stairs, she presses the start button. Once the tablet press is done, white tablets are ejected from the machine, landing in a container on the floor. Anna seals the container and hands it over to the next step in the process – the fully automated packaging line. Anna is a fictitious person, but her situation seems to be commonplace in some industries. At Piab, we daily help our customers to convert manual sub flows into automated ones using vacuum-based conveying technology. As for Anna’s situation as described above, both the inflow (the powder) and the outflow (the finished tablets) can be solved using a semi (conventional solution) or a fully automatic vacuum conveying system (controlled by machine learning), where human interaction becomes minimal as the system itself can adapt to the humidity as well as the density of the material etc. By moving from a manual flow to an automated one, the basic prerequisites are being established for generating relevant data and linking up the complete system, leaving no manual “black-box” islands behind. In Anna’s case, it would also lead to less exposure to dust as well as reducing the safety and ergonomic risks attached to her handling the material manually. The result is increased productivity and an improved working environment. To a great extent, the next few years will be spent transforming manual sub flows into automated ones that generate relevant data and link up to form a unit, focusing on the overall optimization rather than that of each part. Efforts will focus on upgrading semi-automated flows into fully automated solutions based on minimal physical human interaction. Not until that happens will we be able to really talk about Industry 4.0 and about its potential for the processing industry. What it boils down to is understanding and investing in the weakest link – because that is what is stopping your company from reaching the full potential of Industry 4.0.

Industry 4.0 has been on the agenda for quite some time now, but its realization is a far away from what fills our daily news feeds.

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