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.

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

A recent ESS Technologies, Inc. case-packing project involved the integration of three SR-3iA Fanuc SCARA robots, equipped with Fanuc’s iRVision and ESS-designed end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) to collate more than 160 cosmetic tubes/min for feeding to a case packer. Named the TaskMate Robotic Systems® high-speed SCARA robotic collation cell, the system can also handle pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, consumer goods, and medical devices.

ESS engineers programmed the three robots using Fanuc’s iRPickTool software, which it explains simplifies the setup of picking-and-packing conveyor tracking applications. iRPickTool supports camera tracking applications using integrated iRVision software and also provides a means of setup so that robots can share work using multiple load-balancing methods. The software allows the robots to pick from fixed stations, standard conveyors, and indexing conveyors.


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