How Can Bakeries Automate the Handling of Soft and Sticky Dough?

In food processing automation, handling soft and deformable dough has always been a challenging application.This case focuses on the automatic handling of fermented dough pieces in a bakery production line. After proofing, the dough needs to be accurately picked and transferred into a dough pressing machine for the next processing step.The dough specifications:

• Picking diameter: approximately 70 mm
• Height: approximately 40 mm

However, proofed dough has unique characteristics: it is soft, easily deformed, and has a slightly oily surface. These properties make traditional robotic gripping solutions difficult to apply.

Why Do Vacuum Suction Cups Fail When Picking Dough?

Vacuum suction cups are widely used in industrial automation, but they often struggle with soft bakery products.For this dough handling application, common issues include:

• The oily surface reduces friction, causing the dough to slip during transfer;
• Vacuum force may create local deformation;
• Excessive suction pressure can flatten the dough and affect product quality.

For bakery products that require precise shape retention, vacuum gripping is not always an ideal solution.

Why Are Rigid Robotic Grippers Not Suitable for Soft Dough?

Traditional rigid robotic grippers rely on mechanical clamping force. However, soft fermented dough cannot withstand concentrated pressure.During gripping, rigid fingers may cause:

• Visible pressure marks on the dough surface;
• Shape deformation;
• Damage to the internal layered structure.

For laminated or flaky bakery products, maintaining the internal dough structure is essential because it directly affects the final texture and puffing performance.

What Type of Gripper Is Suitable for Sticky and Deformable Dough?

To solve these challenges, a Rochu soft robotic gripper was introduced for automated dough picking and transfer.With its flexible material and adaptive gripping structure, the soft gripper can automatically conform to the dough shape while distributing gripping force evenly.The automated process:Dough Feeding → Soft Gripper Picking → Robotic Transfer → Dough Pressing Machine LoadingThe soft robotic gripper successfully handles dough pieces with a diameter of approximately 70 mm and a height of 40 mm, while minimizing deformation during transportation.

How Did the Soft Gripper Solve the Dough Sticking Problem?

During initial testing, another challenge appeared.Because fermented dough has a naturally sticky surface, the dough could occasionally adhere to the gripper after picking.This caused several issues:

• Dough sticking to the gripper surface;
• Unstable releasing performance;
• Reduced efficiency during continuous production.

To improve reliability, the engineering team optimized the gripper structure.

Simple Optimization, Significant Improvement: Adding a Cable Tie Structure

After multiple tests, a simple cable tie-assisted structure was added to the soft gripper.This small modification effectively reduced dough adhesion and improved release stability.Benefits include:✅ Reduced contact area between dough and gripper surface;

✅ Lower risk of sticky residue and product adhesion;

✅ Improved picking and releasing consistency;

✅ No need for expensive structural redesign, significantly reducing modification costs.A simple and cost-effective adjustment helped achieve stable automated production.

How Many Cycles Can the Dough Handling Solution Achieve?

After optimization, the soft robotic gripper solution has been validated in real production.The system has completed:More than 1,152,000 picking cyclesThroughout long-term operation, the soft gripper maintained stable performance and successfully met the requirements of food automation applications, including:

• High reliability;
• Gentle product handling;
• Long service life;
• Consistent production performance.

Soft Robotic Grippers Enable Smarter Food Automation

Food products often have unique characteristics such as softness, irregular shapes, stickiness, and fragility. Traditional rigid automation tools can struggle to balance efficiency and product protection.Soft robotic grippers provide an effective solution through:

• Adaptive gripping;
• Gentle contact force;
• Damage-free handling;
• Flexible adaptation to irregular products.

From dough and bakery products to fruits, meat, and other delicate food items, soft robotic gripper technology is helping manufacturers achieve more efficient, reliable, and intelligent automation.