Robots rule at AUSPACK

Australian manufacturers considering boosting their investment in robotics for processing and packaging should attend the industry’s leading trade show to explore their options.

At AUSPACK 2017, global and local robotics and automation experts will present the latest advances in robotic technology and intelligent automation across processing and packaging.

Among the exhibitors to look out for are Scott Automation & Robotics (Stand 250), Robotic Automation (Stand 266), Kuka Robotics (Stand 53), Foodmach (Stand 260) and ABB (Stand 502).

Collaborative robots (cobots) have captured market attention in Australia recently, and a few will ‘strut their stuff’ at AUSPACK.

Cobots are set to change the face of productivity and manufacturing in Australia. Able to work alongside humans without the need for safety guarding, subject to risk assessment, cobots open vast new applications for robot technology. They are easily integrated into existing production environments, and the tasks they are suitable for are wide-ranging.

“Applications for cobots are limited mainly by imagination,” says Mark Emmett, MD of HMPS (Stand 69).

“There is a shortage of labour for repetitive tasks. Robots do an amazing job at doing the same task over and over with complete accuracy. We are finding even smaller producers have a need for automation. We are able to offer from very basic to very complex, customised solutions,” he said.

Working closely with robotic partner ABB (Stand 502), HMPS is now able to offer a new era of robotic co-workers that are able to work collaboratively on the same tasks with humans while still ensuring the safety of those around it. YuMi is the world’s first truly collaborative dual-arm robot and it will be on show at AUSPACK 2017.

Building on the YuMi innovation, ABB has recently launched SafeMove 2, a robot supervisory system that enables ABB’s industrial robot range to be safely installed into collaborative applications. ABB’s Peter Bradbury said this eliminates the need to compromise throughput by potentially having to utilise much slower collaborative robots of lower payload capacity.

A global leader in collaborative robot development, Universal Robots (UR) has tied up a new distributorship deal with AUSPACK exhibitor Foodmach (Stand 260), who will showcase a number of UR cobots in action.

Foodmach will feature a UR10 cobot performing palletisation, depalletisation and label application duties.

The 10 kg payload UR10 will be controlled by Foodmach’s Robowizard pallet layer programming software. The company will also display a smaller UR3 robot to demonstrate the ease of control and safe operation of UR collaborative robots.

Kicking off the robotics revolution right from the registration desk, visitors to AUSPACK 2017 will be greeted by a robot who will answer typical enquiries about the location of exhibitors stands; the location of meeting rooms; the location of eating and restroom facilities; shuttle bus pick-up points and times; and educational and networking event timetables.

AUSPACK 2017 will run from 7–10 March 2017 at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.