Custom, small-scale barrier pouch packaging from automation startup
Kevin J. Harrigan | August 06, 2019Figure 1. A barrier pouch from Keto Farms. Source: Keto FarmsA new company is offering customized barrier pouch opening and filling technologies. Venice Automation, a Los Angeles-based startup, built a customized barrier pouch opener for Keto Farms, a Venice, California, food supplier focused on keto diet-compliant products.
Although Keto Farms’ manufacturing facility processes up to 9,000 barrier pouches per day, they are a medium-sized business and expensive industrial solutions were impractical. In fact, one employee’s sole job was to open barrier pouches, engage the pouch gusset so it stays open and then pass the pouch along to the product packer. The task was inefficient, repetitive and physically demanding at a large volume.
Keto Farms enlisted Venice Automation for an automated pouch-filling solution. Venice designed the equipment and outsourced components to be 3D printed. The current design, a prototype, uses four pneumatic cups mounted to expandable tooling, triggered by an operator foot switch. Pouches are grasped by the cups and the tooling expands it, all in about two seconds. The suction cups are moveable to accommodate three pouch sizes.
The current iteration is only a prototype and Venice Automation is working on a final design, which includes crowdsourcing ideas from reddit. Notably, the next version will include a bag magazine to auto-load bags, a conveyor belt to send the opened pouch along to the packer and finally a pouch-sealing station. Additionally, the prototype requires the operator to stick his or her finger into the pouch opening to overcome the pouch’s internal negative pressure. This too will be addressed in the next version.