Packaging Solutions New Digital Technologies for more Flexibility

Based on its modular machine concept, the packaging machine manufacturer Schubert will be introducing new answers to the increasing digitalisation of machine and robot functions. With high-level flexibility, the manufacturer is responding to the increasingly complex market requirements of greater product diversity and smaller batch sizes.

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Additive manufacturing offers great opportunities here: With 3D printing, processes can be entirely rethought and optimised.

Faster, more flexible, more sustainable – the packaging industry is currently facing several challenges. In order to satisfy these requirements economically and ecologically as a manufacturer in the packaging process, highly flexible machines and consistently efficient processes are necessary. The firm already offers an advantage here with the modular design of its TLM systems, which the group is continuously advancing by developing new robots and digital solutions, states the company.

Cobots – the Next Level of Automation

With cooperative robots, which work without a safety cage, packaging processes of small batch sizes can be automated and significantly optimised. The company is developing a comprehensive system for its new cobot modules. It includes an intelligent and easy to configure control system, a vision system that allows it to perceive its environment, feed belts, format parts and much more with the help of artificial intelligence.

Each cobot requires no more than the space needed for a table with boxes and one or two people. The cooperative robots are extraordinarily fast and relieve workers of monotonous tasks in the packaging process, adds the firm. For example, they can pick up jumbled products without prior separation and place them onto a conveyor. Working with them is also very safe: When a worker approaches a cobot, the robot initially slows down and finally stops completely.

New Pick & Place Robots for Higher Output Density

If you need to accommodate higher performance in a small space or require more mobility in product handling, the company’s specialised T4 and T5 robots are the right solution, claims the firm. They complement the proven F4 robot, which is used in numerous picker lines from Schubert. The design of the new pick & place robots is based on the well-known delta robot type.

Their compact rectangular working area makes them perfect for high performance in the smallest of spaces: Up to six of the new four-axis T4 robots can work simultaneously in a single TLM frame. The T5 variant offers a completely different – and also new – option for machine processes. It has a fifth axis with which products can be pivoted and tilted.

Virtual Parts Warehouse with 3D Printing on Demand

3D printing is revolutionising not only machines but also warehousing, as electronic design data can be retrieved ‘on demand’ in seconds anywhere in the world. The company is now making this access possible – with the new part streaming platform from Schubert Additive Solutions. The virtual warehouse is fast, reliable and economical, and represents a major step towards secure, flexible production. The digitally stored parts are available everywhere, eliminating long waiting and delivery times. In addition to simple spare and wear parts, various robot tools can be printed via the part streaming platform, mentions the company.

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