2005-08-22 - ABB has launched two new dedicated robots for packaging lines and is now the only global supplier to offer a complete range of robots and software designed specifically for picking, packing and palletizing.
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The two new robots – the IRB 260 for packing and the IRB 660 for palletizing – join the IRB 340 high-speed picking robot which was launched in 2001 with ABB’s dedicated packaging software platform, PickMaster.
“This adds up to a unique and complete robotics offering for packaging lines,” says Klas Bengtsson of ABB Robotics.
“Each robot is designed for a specific packaging application – picking, packing or palletizing – and runs on the same software platform created specifically for packaging automation. This gives them considerable advantages over preceding versions in terms of reach, payload, cycle times and costs.”
The IRB 260 packing robot, for instance, handles twice the weight for double the payload, and works 25 percent faster than its predecessor. And the IRB 660 palletizer has up to 55 percent more payload and a 15 percent faster cycle time, while handling more stations and with a significantly longer reach, than the preceding IRB 640.
“Add to this the fact that the IRB 340 is the fastest picker on the market with a cycle time of only 0.4 seconds and that all three share a common interface, and you have a very powerful robotics package,” says Bengtsson.
Fastest picker on the planet
All three robots are state-of-the-art four-axis designs, compact and low weight for maximum payload, high speed and cost efficiency. They offer the following principal features:
IRB 340 – known as the fastest picker on the planet, the FlexPicker handles up to 150 picks per minute, moving objects from one location or conveyor to another at high speed and with exceptional accuracy, picking only perfect objects and ignoring defects.
IRB 260 – based on the IRB 2400, the largest selling industrial robot in the world, and specifically designed for tight packing cells. Small, compact, and lightweight the IRB 260 has a payload of 30 kg, double that of the IRB 2400 packing variant, and is 25 percent faster.
IRB 660 – available in two versions with a payload of either 180 kg at full speed or 250 kg at reduced speed, the IRB 660 can service up to four in-feed conveyors, two pallet stacks, one slip-sheet stack and four palletizing out-feeding lines. Reach has been extended from 2.9 to 3.15 meters and palletizing height to U.S. truck levels of 2.98 meters.
PickMaster 5.0 – ABB’s unique and dedicated packaging software for picking, packing and palletizing installations is quick to commission, easy to operate and reliable to run with some 100 installations worldwide in the food, medical, pharmaceutical and electronics industries worldwide.