Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA
Automation Analysis and Concepts on Robots in Aseptic Quality Assurance
In short
SKAN AG is a worldwide leading manufacturer of aseptic isolator equipment for the pharmaceutical industry. To drive automation in aseptic productions, IPA researchers carried out a process analysis and elaborated a basic concept for a robot-based automation solution.
In detail
To start with, the IPA scientists divided the process into sub-steps and identified repetitions and process variants. For each process step, they then assessed the automation potential based on the analysis of the potential to automate (APA) developed at Fraunhofer IPA. This enabled them to identify the process steps which are difficult to automate and require special automation solutions in the aseptic working environment of an isolator. Various automation concepts were subsequently elaborated for these process steps and evaluated in terms of expected development effort and costs. Based on this, the scientists designed an overall concept, estimating the development and follow-up costs as well as the achievable cycle time. They also showed a possible 3D layout of the aseptic isolator for a robot-based solution. Finally, they described in detail the development risks and recommended feasibility studies for follow-up projects to minimize these risks.
Customer testimony
“We are highly satisfied and impressed how methodically and professionally IPA approached this complex issue.” - SKAN AG