A Mix of Pioneering and Problem Solving
AMF’s Oke Liimatta discusses the benefits of customized product loading and safety.
What influences the design process in bakery automation engineering? As bakers work to meet customer demand, Oke Liimatta, AMF Product Team Leader, Pans & Baskets, Mechanical Engineering, works with customization and product safety as his motivation.
Throughout his seven years at AMF, Oke Liimatta has worked his way from Mechanical Engineer to Product Team Lead. His focus is on the product loading sector, specifically pans and baskets. Success is his motivation, and he focuses on the customer and end-user needs to refine the AMF equipment solutions he has a hand in designing.
Pioneering Customization
Engineering customized product loading solutions that can easily integrate into the customer’s current bakery processes to ensure their success is one of Oke’s top priorities. He stated, “We have always been able to customize our products to meet our customers varied needs: site specification, container size, layout requirements, etc. We’ve built upon our history of adaptability by implementing a Configure To Order (CTO) process across our loading and distribution equipment.”
This method provides three significant benefits:
- Customer orders are designed and released in record time.
- Engineers can create new design elements for unique applications that are compatible with the rest of the standard design.
- Engineers can update existing machines as they release improvements through the CTO process. For example, customers can buy a single basket machine today and upgrade to multi-basket functionality with a bolt-on kit next year.
One such customized solution he worked on is the AMF Articulating Arm Basket/Case Loader. This specific loader can gently pick and place packaged products while ensuring tight product to container ratios. Recipe management software is engineered in, and it offers multiple pattern capabilities without tool change to improve bakery safety and efficiency at every step. See the ABL Robotic Product Loader in action here.
Solving Safety Issues
In addition to customization, continuously integrating the most recent safety features is at the forefront of what Oke and his team do. He continued, “Our guarding kits have evolved significantly to meet rigorous safety standards while providing quick and easy access to the machine when necessary. We used to use fixed tunnel guards; we now have safety interlocked door access to the areas operators need to get to the most. We have also replaced the pneumatic components on our machines with motor-driven options to reduce the stress placed on a bakery’s compressed air supply.
AMF’s post-packaging team is dedicated to precision engineering to design seamless automation solutions for one or every step of the baking process. With teammates like Oke Liimatta helping to lead the way, they will continue to drive growth and innovation.
Learn more about AMF’s efficient product loading systems that bring the highest quality finished products to market here.
