Robots have been used in palletizing applications dating back in the 1980s. Today, they’ve gone upstream with a new breed of collaborative robots that, thanks to new sensors, can work side-by-side with humans without the need for traditional safety caging.
One model named Baxter, from Rethink Robotics, has been working at co-packer Praxis Packaging in Grand Rapids, MI, placing and positioning cartons on a blister packaging line. And just a few weeks ago, I spoke with an OEM selling the same model alongside its thermoforming equipment.
