Packaging has traditionally been the realm of fixed automation, often supplemented by manual labor to carry out machine tending and other immediate process steps, mainly material handling. For some continuous high-speed, high volume processes, fixed automation remains the best solution. Increasingly, however, manufacturers are turning to the use of industrial robots, which offer several advantages over fixed automation.
The high cost of fixed automation limits its use mainly to high-volume operations with few product changes. The advantages of fixed automation outweighed the disadvantages. Manufacturers had a solution that worked, and without the fierce new competition from offshore manufacturing that globalization would bring, there was no compelling reason to do differently.
The solution is small assembly robots. Small assembly robots can perform both primary and secondary packaging operations. A class of robot arms often referred to as small assembly robots provides just such an alternative. Despite their name, assembly robots can carry out a much wider variety of tasks than just assembly.
These include all the various material handling and others function involved in upstream packaging processes, such as pick and place, loading and unloading, package forming, product insertion, etc., as well as secondary operations such as labeling, testing and inspection.
In terms of size, small assembly robots are considered to be those with payload capacities up to 20 kg (44 pounds) and reaches up to 1,300 mm (51 inches).
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