robot palletisers with bags of versatilityfollowing a recent surge in enquiries from food packers for versatile palletisers, fanuc uk is working with automation specialists festo and pacepacker to develop systems which can handle bags, boxes, crates, trays and slip sheets by means of a single robot arm"food packers with space and budget constraints are looking for compact palletising systems capable of handling a variety of packs types. in the last 12 months we&39ve seen enquiries for multitasking robot palletisers increase by 35," remarked john rainer, regional sales manager, fanuc uk.food manufacturers face a number of challenges in their production operations. in a manual process, they must deal with ergonomic issues, labour availability and the uncertainty of increasing costs associated with legislation. in an automated process, accommodating rapidfire product & pack changes driven by sustainability initiatives and shelf impact, as well understanding and improving key performance measures such as overall equipment effectiveness oee, are key. although the cost of a robot has reduced for example the cost of fanuc&39s latest palletiser the m410ic185 is 7 lower compared to its predecessor, yet has a 12 increase in payload capacity, this is just one of many factors that have improved a robot&39s viability in the food industry."we&39ve strengthened the business case for robot adoption by providing the necessary functionality that a food producer needs," said john. fanuc&39s latest robots have been designed specifically to work in the harshest of environments, and in addition to being smaller, stronger and faster, they incorporate the latest vision technology to improve the robot&39s &39sight&39.for the ultimate in handling versatility, fanuc&39s system integrator pacepacker is using the latest festo technology to design bespoke end effectors the robot hand. combining gripper fingers and different sets of vacuum suction cups, the endeffector seamlessly autoadjusts as a product travels down the conveyor to the robot. "a single robot arm will prepare pallets and slip sheets, before handling a variety of pack types including sacks, crates, boxes and trays."created using modules rather than components, the new style endeffectors are simple in their design with less to maintain by the customer. "when working on a complex project, there is a danger that a system is overengineered with the knock on effect that the solution created becomes larger, heavier and more expensive than necessary. to combat this, standard &39off the shelf&39 modules are used to create the end effector, rather than a series of components which has a tendency to lead to unnecessary complexity and a cumbersome design," said john."in production scenarios where humans and robots are occupying the same space, the latest simulation tools now satisfies stakeholder concerns over worker safety," comments john. fanuc&39s roboguide enables customers and integrators alike to precisely visualise and preprogramme a robotic installation in a safe and convenient virtual 3d world, before putting those plans into effect. as well as being able to predict and forestall potential newbuild issues, roboguide gives users a useful tool to scopeout changing requirements and better plan for project upgrades. it can preempt and help prevent costly damage to the robot and help keep coworkers safe.for customers with space constraints, fanuc&39s dcs dual check safety software helps the robot successfully navigate obstructions in a factory infrastructure. "fanuc&39s new dcs software limits the way the robot moves in a 3d world, which has never been possible before. it means that we can teach the robot to avoid obstructions, and still use a large robot with a long reach," enthuses john. "furthermore, the software is able to provide ple protection in situations where the robot has to operate in close proximity to safety fencing."for space and budget conscious users, fanuc&39s pmc programmable machine controller enables control of the complete cell. using the pmc, the infeed and pallet conveyors for example, are controlled by the robot without the need for an additional plc and with no impact on motion performance.along with energy reducing technology built into all fanuc products to reduce power usage with savings in the region of 20, fanuc guarantee 25 year parts availability including obsolescence avoidance solutions to cover the life span of its robot palletiser systems.bev smalllucy benbowkirsty sharpe of glohouse mediat 44 0 7901 841491 e bev.small@glohouse.co.ukt 44 07971 987 761 e lucy.benbow@glohouse.co.ukt 44 0 1920 821873 e kirsty.sharpe@glohouse.co.ukfanuc uk contactangela ridley, sales & marketing administratort 44 02476 518415 e angela.ridley@fanuc.euwww.fanuc.eu 
