APRIL Robotics Powder Weighing System
Automate your powder handling and weighing
Automatically store over 100 raw materials and accurately dose 500,000 additions per year direct from your ERP.
Ensure every powder is dosed right first time.
Use proven weighing algorithms to quickly dose and handle “difficult” non-free flowing raw materials up to an accuracy of +/- 1 gram.
Improve health & safety AND increase margins.
Automating the weighing process can reduce the risk of operator error, injury, and fatigue. Plus improves productivity, yield, and consistency.
Move towards an agile smart factory.
Confidently move towards just-in-time manufacturing and respond to changing market demands faster.
Would you like to discuss your powder-handling project with an expert?
“In terms of safety, quality and weighing accuracy, the APRIL cell fully delivers against our expectations. I would say that the relationship with OAL has been good to excellent. We’ve had a lot to learn about automation and robotics, and OAL has been supportive every step of the way.”
How the APRIL™ Robotics Weighing System works
Combining exceptional storage density with an unparalleled turndown ratio, the APRIL Robotics Weighing System offers a scalable, modular design with high-accuracy material weighing. Learn more about the system in our explainer video below:
Overcome the challenges of manual powder weighing with automation
Overcome the challenges of manual powder weighing with automation. Combining high levels of flexibility, robotic powder weighing can automate over 500,000 manual powder additions per year. Switch today to overcome:
Cost of labour. Significant variation in labour cost due to geography and operating industry. Variation in operating hours, each operator removed from a shift in a 24/7 operation is the equivalent of removing 5 people when holiday and sickness cover is taken into account.
Cost of error. Significant variation of the impact of human error based on component and product value and whether the product can be reworked
Product quality, accuracy and traceability. The impact of the wrong blends and ingredients, as well as the compromising of allergens, can have a significant impact on a business’s reputation.
Hazard risk to operators. The risks that operational staff are currently exposed to will vary based on the ingredient which in extreme cases may be toxic. The value to the customer could be significantly higher.
Protection of IP. Manual weigh-up processes require the operators to know the constituents of any formulation to the “secret sauce”.
APRIL Powder Weighing Brochure
Learn how automation can transform your complex powder weighing operations. Our APRIL Powder Weighing Brochure explains:
The history and development of the patented powderweighing process
Reasons why the cost of manual powder is increasing
How the APRIL Weighing Cell works and technical specification
The benefits of switching to robotic powder weighing
How to adopt APRIL powder weighing in your manufacturing processes
Struggled to automate your powder dosing in the past?
We’ve helped manufacturers overcome the common problems with automating micro/minor powder handling:
The cost of the system could not be justified based on labour savings.
The lack of flexibility and expandability of the system does not meet the rapidly changing markets they serve.
“Difficult to handle ingredients” simply did not feed through the system.
Difficulties in cleaning the equipment.
Ability to deal with a wide dispensing range whilst maintaining accuracy/speed.
Discover more insights on powder weighing automation:
Book a powder handling assessment
Review your material handling challenges with a powder handling expert and discover how robotics could impact your operations.
We’ll provide examples of how robotic-based material handling systems have been used to overcome traditional powder handling challenges.
Typical intro call agenda:
Robotic weighing fundamentals. Key differences and “rule” changes.
Scope review. Volumes, # raw materials, dosing range and accuracy.
The OAL Way, our proven approach to projects includes building a business case, validation (trials and simulation) and project delivery.
Accurate powder weighing/scaling
Weighing out or scaling powders is a manual, repetitive task that is highly susceptible to human error. The APRIL™ Robotics Weighing System automates this, offering unrivalled accuracy, efficiency and allergen control. The robot weighs out ingredients to an accuracy of +/- 1g every time. The flexible nature of the systems means the APRIL system can handle both free-flowing and non free-flowing ingredients.
Increased margins
As labour costs continue to rise across the globe, food manufacturers can be particularly affected due to the number of operators usually involved in micro-weighing. By implementing robotic autonomous ingredient handling, it’s possible to remove human intervention from micro-scaling activities, therefore allowing the food industry to reduce associated labour costs and boost margins.
Total traceability
Dedicated ingredient containers and contact components within the APRIL Robotics Weighing System prevent cross-contamination across multiple product lines, ensuring that your product labels accurately reflect the contents of the packaging for increased product safety. With total traceability for your product and a full audit trail, the system can help to prevent product recalls.
Improved health & safety
Working with powders every day in facilities can pose a significant risk to operator health. Manufacturers must mitigate this risk and the best way to achieve this is to remove the operator from the activity. APRIL™ Robotics allows you to do this, protecting your operators while achieving a positive impact on your turnover and optimising your processes.
APRIL Weighing System Layout
A standard APRIL Weighing System has the following dimensions:
Length 6.5m (20ft)
Width 6.5m (20ft)
Height 3.2m (10.5ft)
