Cake Cutting With Ultrasonic Precision

Vigap is family-run; the vision of the second generation is to maintain a high level of quality while optimising resources. "We chose to automate some production phases in order to be more stable and to increase our production capacity in view of our future projects. We didn't want to miss the opportunity to make our processes more efficient", points out Production Manager Massimiliano Pistone.  
 
Vigap chose to automate the process of cutting baked cakes by introducing a robot equipped with an ultrasonic blade into production, which allows for the clean and precise cutting of the cakes. 

"Now, with the technology, we are more efficient, more precise, and we can guarantee a clean cut of the product, as well as benefit from a concrete increase in our production capacity," Pistone explains. 

As Carlo Depu, managing director of Demur, a system integrator specialising in industrial robotic systems based in Savoca (ME), explains, the bottleneck in the cake production chain was cutting the cakes. This was carried out with the help of a manual machine that could cut 300 cakes per day. Demur has replaced the machine with a cell consisting of an articulated FANUC LR Mate robot and an ultrasonic blade. Vigap can now cut up to 2,000 cakes per day (+650%).  

The staff who were previously responsible for cutting the cakes have been relocated to the research and development department.