In the food industry, precision, speed, and safety are not optional: they are the foundation for guaranteeing quality products, optimising costs, and complying with strict sanitary regulations. Every minute of downtime or every error in the production flow can translate into thousands of euros lost and risks to food traceability.
According to data from the European Food Processing Machinery Association (EFAMA), automation in packaging and processing lines has enabled companies in the sector to reduce unplanned downtime by up to 25%, in addition to improving food safety and resource utilisation.
Within this context, we present some of the most in-demand solutions for optimising lines in the food sector. These are pieces of equipment designed to adapt to the real needs of production, with a focus on efficiency, reliability, and integration into high-cadence environments.
High-Speed Diverters
Intelligent and synchronised flow between multiple lines. High-speed diverters allow for the redistribution of product flow across different lines, ensuring a perfect balancing of the workload and preventing accumulation.
- 1-to-2 DiverterThanks to the use of servomotors, this system achieves synchronisation with conveyor belt speeds of up to 50 m/min, allowing it to divert packages at a rate of up to 30,000 pieces per hour, depending on the product size. This is an ideal solution for high-production packaging and packing processes.
- 2-to-3 DistributorUsing a pneumatic system with control logic, it redistributes products from 2 lanes to 3 outlets in a balanced way. Its automatic counting system ensures that each lane receives the correct quantity, preventing saturation and maintaining line continuity.
- 4-to-2 DistributorDesigned to unify the product flow from four lanes to two lanes, with real-time detection and automatic regulation. This ensures a continuous and synchronised output even when products arrive from different sides of the line.
Main Benefit: These machines maintain fluidity in high-cadence lines, with simple integration into existing infrastructure and without the need for major modifications.
Manual extractor with tray
Versatility and safety in unforeseen stoppages. The manual extractor with tray is a practical solution for the provisional extraction of products during stoppages or maintenance.
- It incorporates a locking system on both sides, guaranteeing stability and safety.
- It prevents product accumulation in the event of unexpected interruptions.
- It does not require tools or power to be used, which allows for quick and effective intervention.
Key Application: It minimises product losses in automatic packaging, canning, or bulk transport processes, ensuring operational continuity.
Product positioner on conveyor
Millimetre precision for automation. In automatic pick-up processes, every millimetre counts. The product positioner on conveyor ensures that packages or products are located in the exact right place to be picked up by robotic systems or manipulators.
- It prevents errors in automatic pick-up.
- It increases the operating speed in packaging and palletising processes.
- It allows for maintaining very tight precision tolerances, reducing rejections.
Key Benefit: Its contribution to advanced automation allows for combining speed with absolute control in product handling.
Hinge-based conveyors
Continuous flow with separation, grouping, and inspection. Hinge-based conveyors are the ideal solution for handling containers such as jars, bottles, or cans.
- They allow for separating products from a single source into multiple parallel lines, where operations like labelling are carried out.
- Subsequently, the products are reunified on a single conveyor to undergo quality controls such as optical inspection.
- Their modular design facilitates integration with existing systems and allows for customised adaptations according to the plant layout.
Key Benefit: They guarantee a stable flow in high-production environments, maintaining demanding quality standards and reducing bottlenecks.
In a sector where every second and every package counts, these solutions—high-speed diverters, manual extractors, product positioners, and hinge-based conveyors—represent the perfect combination of technology, efficiency, and adaptability.
At IFAMAC, we design and adapt each system personally, ensuring integration into demanding production processes and offering measurable results: greater efficiency, less waste, and maximum reliability at every stage of production.