Their latest development is a gripper that can pick up plastic punnets of fruit and vegetables from boxes and place them at any desired location. It can also case-pack punnets coming off the packaging line.

MDE Automation expects this newly developed gripper to provide soft fruit, grape, and mushroom packers with a fully automatic solution. "It's a game changer for efficiently loading crates at the end of packaging lines. The entire process, from unpacking from the box to packing, is fully automated. The boxes are located using Vision technology," Edwin begins.

The gripper can be used for both open and closed punnets and grips the tray's edge. "The challenge was firmly gripping a 500g punnet without damaging it. We opted for a non-vacuum solution. The gripper also doesn't go into the punnet, thus avoiding damaging the product or top seal."