Cannabis pre-rolls are one of the biggest trends in the industry right now. Growing at 12% year-over-year (YoY) in the U.S. and 38% YoY in Canada, pre-rolls are the fastest growing cannabis product in the world of legal marijuana, according to the National Cannabis Industry Association.
Automating the Pre-Roll Production Process
As popular as they are, making pre-rolls can be a pretty labor-intensive process. But one innovative device is changing up the way pre-rolls are made and making them a whole lot easier to produce. Sorting Robotics has just introduced the Jiko+ Donut Maker, a one-of-a-kind robotics device that automates the production process of the fan-favorite hash hole at scale.
“Up until now, crafting these intricate, infused pre-rolls by hand required labor-intensive processes that lacked scalability, consistency, and dependability. We’re proud to have developed the technology and equipment that both brands and consumers will appreciate and enjoy,” Nohtal Partansky, Co-Founder and CEO of Sorting Robotics, said in a release sent to Cannabis Regulator.
The Jiko+ Donut Maker empowers cannabis brands to effortlessly start and scale the production of top-tier Donut Joints without compromising quality or efficiency. This technology seamlessly integrates concentrates into pre-rolled joints, replicating the craftsmanship of skilled artisans while streamlining operations and reducing costs through the combination of automation, robotics, computer vision, machine learning and AI technologies.
Key features of the Jiko+ Donut Maker include:
- Unparalleled Capacity: The machine crafts an impressive 800 donut-style infused pre-rolls per hour, catering to high-demand scenarios with ease.
- Versatile Infusion: The Jiko+ Donut Maker accommodates various joint sizes, ranging from 1.0g to 3.0g, with customizable concentrate levels ranging from 200mg to 1.0g.
- Diverse Presentation: Brands can choose from finished pre-rolled cones, straight-tubes, or blunt wraps, offering versatility in catering to consumer preferences.
- Exclusive Package: Each Jiko+ Donut Maker comes with a bonus package of 1000 2.0g Blunt Wraps, along with a matching Jiko Wheel, facilitating the immediate creation of 1000 Donut Blunts upon installation.
As a former NASA-JPL engineer who was on the MOXIE project, an instrument currently on the surface of Mars producing oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, Partansky was excited to dive into the cannabis industry and unveil Jiko a few years back. This is the industry’s first automated pre-roll infusion robot. Today, Partansky and his team are proud to build upon that technology to help bring the hash hole to scale without sacrificing quality.
How the Jiko+ Donut Maker Works
According to Partansky, the Jiko+ creates donut/hash hole joints and blunts by taking a finished joint/blunt into the robot. The robot then creates a large cavity in the joint. After the cavity is created, rosin is melted down and squeezed into the cavity. The rosin eventually cools down and then creates a solid snake of concentrate that generates a donut hole when it burns.
“From our interviews with customers, it looks like if you’re making 10,000 hash hole joints in a month, then the Jiko+ will save your team over 750 man hours per month! It’s pretty crazy how much cost savings you will get immediately while using the Jiko+ Robot,” Partansky said.
Automation Technology’s Role in the Cannabis Industry
According to Partansky, we are just starting to see how sophisticated operators are harnessing the power of market data, as well as their own manufacturing data, to improve business decisions. If you know what the next trending pre-roll SKU is in a market like California, then you can jump ahead of the curve in a state like Arizona or Massachusetts.
Understanding how your internal supply chain operates means that your AI models can make predictions and forecasts on scheduling downtime, improving efficiencies, and even projecting when reorders for supplies will occur.
Automation is also the only way to become consistent with current and future regulations. Eventually, the cannabis industry will be forced to comply with pharmaceutical standards and those will be much stricter than the current regulations, according to Patansky.
“Ideally, all operators will have the ability to turn on an automated factory that takes in tolerance brands provided by the state or federal governing entity, and uses that information in a closed loop system to generate finished goods,” Patansky said. “Stricter and tighter rules are coming. If you don’t prepare for them, you will be up a creek without a paddle.”
