Bake Me a Better Cake: Improving Robotic Decorating with 3D Vision

Retrofitting existing robots with 3D laser scanning to improve cake decorating accuracy, flexibility, and changeover efficiency.

Rise Baking Company produces and decorates cakes for large supermarket chains. As customers requested increasingly intricate designs, limitations in the existing robotic decorating system resulted in inconsistent decorations, manual finishing work, and difficult product changeovers.

Rather than replace the existing robots, Rise Baking Company turned to Concept Systems to retrofit the system with 3D vision and updated controls capable of adapting to the actual size and shape of each cake.

The Problem: Every Cake Is Different

Rise Baking Company’s existing robots applied decorative frosting based on a 2D image and a predetermined cake height. In reality, the height and shape of every cake varies slightly. A difference of as little as an eighth of an inch could distort decorations because the robot couldn’t account for the cake’s actual geometry.

The limitation was especially apparent when applying decorations such as carrots, borders, and dollops. Because the bottom diameter of a cake could differ from the top, some requested decorations had to be applied manually.

Adding new cake designs was also difficult. Each design required changes within both the vision system and robot controller, often requiring specialized programming expertise that wasn’t available onsite.

Product changeovers created another challenge. The 2D camera relied on lighting and contrast, so switching between products such as vanilla and chocolate cake required operators to recalibrate the vision system before production could resume.

 

 

The Solution: A Robotic Vision Retrofit

Concept Systems retained the existing FANUC robots and upgraded each line with Hermary SL1880 3D laser scanners. Using laser triangulation, the scanners generate a point cloud representing the actual three-dimensional geometry of each cake.

Rather than assuming a predetermined height, the system measures each cake and captures its profile every five degrees around its circumference. Concept Systems developed new robot programming that uses this vision data as offsets, allowing the robots to adjust frosting paths based on the actual height and shape of the individual product.

Simplifying Operator Control

Concept Systems also developed a new touchscreen interface that consolidated control of the vision and robotic systems. Operators could select and adjust cake designs through a single interface instead of independently modifying the vision system and robot controller.

The 3D laser scanning technology also removed the system’s dependence on product color and lighting contrast, eliminating the vision recalibration previously required when changing between light and dark cakes.

The Results

The robotic vision retrofit allowed Rise Baking Company to expand the capabilities of its existing equipment while improving decorating accuracy and reducing dependence on manual processes.

• Improved the consistency and quality of intricate frosting designs
• Automated decorations, including bottom borders, that previously required manual application
• Simplified the process of introducing and adjusting cake designs
• Reduced dependence on specialized robot and vision programming
• Eliminated vision recalibration associated with changes in cake color
• Reduced operator training requirements through a unified interface
• Extended the capabilities of existing FANUC robots rather than replacing them
• Achieved an eight-month return on investment
  
  

The project was completed in five months with one Concept Systems engineer working alongside one Rise Baking Company engineer and the plant manager.

 

“We came in far under budget because the system was so easy to operate. Our training costs were far less than expected. While on site, Concept Systems also reviewed other parts of our project and gave solid advice in areas where they were not specifically looking for additional work — this really proved they are in business for the best interest of their customers.”

– Factory Manager

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The Project Details