Robotics Emerge to Power Next-Generation Industrial Environments

Dan Dibbern and Laura Studwell for Quality Magazine:  Industrial robots are expected to be the focus for investment in factory automation. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), investment in industrial robots is expected to grow at an annual rate of 12% from 2015 to 2017. The packaging industry is experiencing a surge in robotic integration throughout primary, secondary and tertiary packaging—from processing, assembly, labeling and cartoning to case packing and palletizing.

The driving force behind the surge in robotics sales growth in North America is the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The FSMA is requiring companies to introduce automated machinery and components into the production process to help eliminate potential product quality and integrity issues.

With the FSMA about to publicly release its requirements, the use of robots in packaging is at the point of takeoff. And with recent technical advances in robotics helping to power the new wave of interest, companies are experiencing first-hand that robots are faster, smarter and more affordable than ever before.

Comments (0)

This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.


Post A Comment

You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.

Featured Product

ATI Industrial Automation - MC-50 Manual Tool Changer

ATI Industrial Automation - MC-50 Manual Tool Changer

With intuitive and ergonomic lever operation, the patent-pending MC-50 Manual Robot Tool Changer provides a simple solution for quickly changing robotic end-of-arm tooling by hand. This compact and robust Tool Changer is designed for applications on collaborative robots that support payloads up to 25 kg and small industrial robots supporting payloads up to 10 kg. Featuring an ISO 50 mm mounting interface on the Master-side and Tool-side, the low-profile MC-50 mounts directly to most cobots and seamlessly integrates with many common cobot marketplace grippers and end-effectors.