Shelf-ready case loading

The robot’s application space also extends to product handling and pick and place tasks, where its long reach renders it the ideal choice for produce collation functions bridging between out-feed and packing conveyors.

"Historically, there has always been a tradeoff between payload and reach, with packaging and processing industry users having to go for a bigger robot if they wanted long reach capabilities. The M-710iC/45M opens up new opportunities for more efficient pick and place or palletising tasks, with its extended reach and stack height capability. In conjunction with high speed operation, this enables one single M-710iC/45M to service up to six euro pallets for highest return on investment and fastest payback,and as with all FANUC robots can be equipped with line tracking and vision for on-the-fly picking and product identification” says John Rainer, regional sales manager at FANUC UK.

The new M-710iC/45M robot can collate shingle-fed produce packs and load them into a shelf-ready carton. The system has a unique tilted end effector which can handle produce packs such as noodles taking them from a horizontal to a vertical shelf-ready position.  Packs shoot off the end of a conveyor into the end effector which lowers until several packs are stacked one on top of the other. The end effector then moves to a horizontal position, presenting the packs in an upright collation for loading into a box or shelf-ready tray.

Palletising and depalletising are also expected to be massive application areas for the M-710iC/45M, owing to the space and cost saving potential that arises from a medium payload coupled with extended reach and high cycle speeds (1350/hour). In designing the M-710iC/45M, FANUC’s engineers have built a six-axis, IP67 certified, articulated arm with best in class reach and the ability to stack pallets as high as 1.89m - all on a compact 535x550mm footprint. Floor, wall, angle and ceiling mounting options add to its flexibility.