NEW EVENT! Cutting-edge Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast
Discover all the latest packaging & processing solutions for food products at the all-new PACK EXPO Southeast in Atlanta, GA, March 10-12, 2025

Cancer diagnostics firm automates bottle filling, capping, labeling

Dako’s compact robotic bottling system frees up vital production floor space, increases speed, and reduces labor costs, filling different bottle shapes and sizes with no mechanical setup between production runs.

FRONT VIEW. The front of the AFTCATS robotic bottling system shows the main touchscreen display, with the pick-and-place loading robot shown in the window.
FRONT VIEW. The front of the AFTCATS robotic bottling system shows the main touchscreen display, with the pick-and-place loading robot shown in the window.

When a patient faces a possible cancer diagnosis, medical professionals typically take a biopsy from the suspect tissue for testing in a lab. Those results can determine if cancer is present, and if so, to what extent it has spread, which helps in determining treatment options.

Such testing often uses a reagent—a substance, mixture, or compound used in the testing process. Dako, an Agilent Technologies company, provides reagents to hospitals and medical testing facilities. It also develops antibodies, instruments, and software, all of which are used to enable physicians to better choose a treatment plan and address patient questions. 

Until earlier this year, the Denmark-based company—with U.S. facilities in Carpinteria, CA—relied on a combination of semi-automatic and manual filling, capping, and labeling processes for these liquid reagents.

Given the critical nature of Dako’s products, it’s no wonder the company sought more sophisticated packaging and automated controls systems. In this article, Dako North America’s Chuck Bischof, Vice President of Operations, and Sean Kelleher, Manufacturing Engineer, discuss the latest addition to the company’s reagent packaging: a Flexible Automated Bottling System from Inventek Engineering, Inc.

Added in May, the Inventek system provides automated filling, bottle tipping, capping/torquing, label application, and inspection. It’s used for a variety of bottle sizes and volumes, ranging from 5 mL to 50 mL. Not only does the Inventek system deliver fully automated production, but it also requires no mechanical setup between different products, with a minimum throughput of 20 bottles/min for the hundreds of products that Dako uses it to fill.

The Inventek system includes three Fanuc 200iC five-axis robots that perform multiple functions, including the picking and placing of bottles, caps, and tips along a servo-controlled conveyor.

Building in system creativity
Bischof points out that the new system represents the second piece of robotic equipment Dako has bought from Inventek. “We purchased one specifically for special reagent stains several years ago,” he says. “I think in the last four years we’ve experienced one down day at most on the equipment, and that was due more to maintenance than anything else. The consistency and reliability of the robotic equipment is impressive, and equipment factors such as airflow, noise, and footprint requirements are so much better as compared to the conventional machinery that you typically see in our type of business.”

Dako’s positive experience with that equipment did factor into the company’s selection of another Inventek system, although Bischof says Dako did put the new project out for bidding.

“We needed somebody that would be creative and really look at helping us solve a problem rather than simply telling us, ‘This is what we build, this is what’s available, and this is what industry standards are.’ We weren’t accepting that. We have some unique packaging requirements, and we really needed somebody that would give us the expertise in leading-edge design and technology that we could apply to our product flow.

“Inventek came around and said, ‘Yes, we can do it; and rather than do the job with one robot, we will use three smaller robots.’ Their concept was creative, and their design was less than half the size footprint-wise of any other competitive bid that we received.”

In working with Inventek on designing the equipment, Dako identified 11 different bottles that would benefit from automated processing, each of which posed challenges based on weight, volume, torquing, labeling, or other features.

Manufacturing and processing
The biomechanical reagents are developed and manufactured by Dako at both its Denmark and California facilities, the latter of which encompasses nearly 100,000 sq ft, including a 20,000-sq-foot R&D facility. Most of the plant is dedicated to manufacturing and administrative functions. The facility manufactures close to 2,000 different product lines, in various sizes and configurations.

“Everything that we produce is packaged into a glass or plastic vial, or into some kind of bottle,” says Bischof. “It is labeled and then boxed. We have two main reagent product lines, or stains. One is the Artisan special stain, and the other is our IHC/histology chemical stain. Both of these are liquids.”

The determination of whether the liquid is filled into plastic or glass is decided by Dako’s R&D team, based on product sensitivities, with light a key concern due to its potentially negative impact on the product.

INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast
The exciting new PACK EXPO Southeast 2025 unites all vertical markets in one dynamic hub, generating more innovative answers to food packaging and processing challenges. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity for your business!
Read More
INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast
Back to Basics: Understanding Conveyors for Food Processing
Discover how modern conveyors enhance food processing—boost efficiency, ensure safety, and save space. Explore the latest tech and tips to optimize your operations.
learn more
Back to Basics: Understanding Conveyors for Food Processing