Mitsubishi Electric demos cage-free robot and rugged automation for food & beverage

During PACK EXPO 2015 Mitsubishi showed off a robot that uses special firmware and off-the-shelf safety equipment to turn a regular robot into a cage-free system that works collaboratively with humans.

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Oct 7th, 2015

During PACK EXPO 2015 Mitsubishi showed off a robot that uses special firmware and off-the-shelf safety equipment to turn a regular robot into a cage-free system that works collaboratively with humans. There were also examples of its multi-network servo drive with vibration control, an IP66 variable frequency drive, and an HMI interface talking to a PLC in an IP67 enclosure—which works well for wash down applications.

Mitsubishi Electric Automation

Pearson’s dual-cell solution is able to handle four palletizing lines dedicated to the customer’s new case style, along with two additional lines, when needed

Robotics Special Report: Cobot-Placed Top Sheets Protect Frozen Foods

The installation of 12 robotic palletizers for frozen food products necessitates the addition of two cobot cap-sheet placers to keep the cases free from dust.

ESS Technologies uses three Fanuc robots to collate more than 160 cosmetic tubes/min for feeding to a case packer.

Robotics Special Report: Vision Enables Tube Picking/Placing at 160/min

A new SCARA robotic cell developed for the collation of cosmetic tubes uses vision software and specially designed end-of-arm tooling.

ABB’s new IRB 390 FlexPacker delta robot for e-commerce applications will be launched at the end of 2020.

Robotics Special Report: E-Commerce Requires new Solutions

New robot technology addresses the specific needs of e-commerce packaging, including mixed pallet loads, labor challenges, and a variety of secondary packaging formats.

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Workers Wanted? Contact the Robot Employment Agency

Start-up MusashiAI introduces intelligent autonomous robots for quality inspection and forklift driving—allowing the redistribution of human labor to more value-added jobs.

In fall of 2019, Columbia/Okura and Universal Robots developed the miniPAL, a mobile palletizing cobot integrating Universal Robot’s UR10e.

Robotics Special Report: Cobots Continue to Advance

According to a PMMI robot report, cobots accounted for about 3% of all robot sales in North America in 2017; by 2025, that number is expected to increase to 34%. Here are some of the new cobot technologies driving that growth.

Considering Packaging Robotics? Read This First

Considering Packaging Robotics? Read This First

Packaging World’s Packaging Robotics Playbook provides a non-biased look at robotics trends, factors when weighing options across your line and get-it-right tips for your team. Download the 49-page report today!

Pandemic Cancels In-Person PACK EXPO International

PMMI Media Group launches new live, web-based event: PACK EXPO Connects 2020.

Dr. Will's AFTER the redesign

Bold Punctuation on Condiment Label Compels Consumers to Stop and Think

An attention-grabbing exclamation-point logo for U.K. condiment brand Dr. Will’s dominates new graphics for the packaging of its all-natural ketchup, mayo, and BBQ sauce.

Premier Tech has developed the PSR robotic solution to speed the sorting of nuts at the final stage of the conditioning process.

Robotics Special Report: Addressing Labor Shortages can ‘Help Feed the World’

Robot manufacturer develops a system to alleviate the lack of labor in the nut industry that can sort nuts at the final stage of the conditioning process.

The interior illustration depicts the animals of the Royal Menagerie attending a coronation celebration surrounded by the precious Royal Regalia at the Tower of London.

A Jewel of a Presentation Box for Royal Salute Whisky

A new addition to the Royal Salute whisky range, The Treasured Blend gets a presentation box with double-door design that opens to a stunning, gold foil menagerie fit for a queen.

Leinenkugel’s to Update Logo, Trader Joe’s Says “No”

The Miller Brewing Company brand will remove the image of a Native American from its packaging in 2021, but Trader Joe’s stands firm against public pressure to remove “racist” packaging references.

Considering Packaging Robotics? Read This First

Considering Packaging Robotics? Read This First

Packaging World’s Packaging Robotics Playbook provides a non-biased look at robotics trends, factors when weighing options across your line and get-it-right tips for your team. Download the 49-page report today!

Dr. R. Andrew Hurley

E-Comm Package Storytelling

Unlike retail packaging, e-commerce packages are first viewed after purchase, providing brand owners the opportunity to present a new insight or character of the brand with each shipment.

Quest developed a flexible robotic system to load meat and poultry into an Ossid ReeForm E40 thermoformer.

Robotics Special Report: Food-Safe Solutions Emerge

New opportunities for the direct and indirect handling of foods emerge as manufacturers begin developing robots for handling unpacked goods.

2800 Series Mini Laser Pro in production at Cannabiz Supply Headquarters

Digital Label Printing Comes In-house

Cannabiz Supply, a packaging company serving a variety of businesses in the cannabis industry, recently improved its production capabilities with in-house digital label printing.

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Hand Sanitizer Spike Here to Stay

U.K. co-packers’ association reports that inquiries for personal care items rocketed by more than 500% shortly after the coronavirus lockdown was implemented.

CP/CMs Navigate COVID-19

Sean Riley, Senior Director, Media and Industry Communications for PMMI, speaks with CPA Managing Director Ron Puvak about how COVID-19 has affected the co-pack/co-man industry.

Kawasaki Robotics Trend Manager failure prediction software is designed to help companies avoid unexpected downtime by allowing them to predict failures and fix issues before loss of production.

Robotics Special Report: Big Data is the New Currency

New software systems for robotics collect and analyze data to increase OEE, protect against cyberattacks, and predict failures.

At PACK EXPO Las Vegas in fall 2019, Syntegon’s Pack 102 horizontal flow wrapper with three Fanuc robots was demonstrated loading meal kits.

Robotics Special Report: Vision for the Future

New vision systems for robotics, including 2D and 3D machine vision, enable broader packaging applications.

Oan Fallas Speedybot

End-of-line Specialist Moves Toward Condition Monitoring

Fallas Automation places an even greater emphasis on integrating early warning systems for predictive maintenance since COVID-19 set in.

More in Home

The Spider 200i from BluePrint Automation uses a multi-axis robot to pick snack bags on-the-fly and vertically case pack them into a cassette that forms a vertical pack pattern.

Robotics Special Report: Mass Customization Demands Flexibility

A growing omnichannel environment requires that CPGs have the flexibility to produce a range of package sizes and styles. Automation provides that capability.

According to Ekroth, the paper bottle initiative is a step-by-step journey to reduce and replace the need for polymers.

Absolut Sustainability

Karin Ekroth, Senior Manager of Communications & Sustainability for The Absolut Company, shares how the world’s sixth-largest international spirits brand—with production of nearly 26 million gallons in fiscal year 2018/19—works toward a circular economy.

ASDA will introduce a 100% recyclable own-label crisp (potato chips) tube.

Recycling drives sustainable packaging

COVID 19 has caused significant disruption to the packaging industry across the world. However, sustainability remains an important area of opportunity for anyone involved in bringing new packaging to market.

The MSP-200 features semi-automated changeover, which allows it to convert to different case configurations in less than 10 minutes.

Robotics Special Report: Case Packer for Croutons Saves Dough on Corrugated

Specialty food products manufacturer installs a robotic case packer for croutons that can keep pace with the rest of the packaging line, while saving costs on shelf-ready packaging, as well.

CPA Webinars Offer Help During COVID-19

In other news from CPA, The Association for Contract Packagers and Manufacturers, the group announces its new board as well as its annual scholarship winners.

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Can Shortages Hit Food and Beverage Industries

Supply chain issues with aluminum, steel, and tin cans are ramping up as COVID-19 changes buying patterns, resulting in a trickle-down effect on product offerings and time-to-market.

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Packagers Stay the COVID-19 Course

Packaging pros adjusted fast to the ‘new normal’ of a pandemic, and have been maintaining for months now, a new Packaging World survey reveals. Three months on from our first survey, we see improvements in CAPEX freedom and a reduction in hiring freezes.

The Cobot Expo will take place online July 28-30.

Cobot Deployment Shines in COVID-19 Pandemic

Leading up to its virtual Cobot Expo this week, Universal Robots highlighted several cases where small companies have been using collaborative automation to keep production going amid the crisis.

Mark O’Malley, CPA President and President/CEO of Paket Corp.

CP/CMs Meet COVID-19 Challenges

When I assumed the role of President of CPA, I never could have predicted our collective experience since that day.

Volatility Breeds Leaps Forward

I may have mentioned it here before, but one of the advantages of reading every issue of Packaging World from cover to cover is the speed at which I can pick up on trends or recurring themes.

Robby Martin, Engineering Specialist, Bush Brothers & Company

The Purpose of Honesty; The Place for Negotiation

Truly effective relationships between CPGs and co-mans/co-packs call for a kind of honesty that does more than just tell the truth when we speak or write. They go deeper into a level of honesty that causes both parties to find common ground.

At 33 meters in length, 13 sub-machines, up to 33,000 bottles an hour – the new packaging machine at Rotkäppchen-Mumm not only has an impressive set of statistics but also provides outstanding flexibility.

Big Packaging Line in a Small Footprint? No Problem if it Handles a Dozen Formats

With the large but flexible Innopack TLM packaging system, a KHS and Schubert collaboration, this many-SKU winery used just one machine to pack a dozen formats and varieties.