The process chain in the consumer goods industry offers great potential for robot-based automation solutions - from processing the raw product to packaging and palletizing.

Mobile palletizing
One trend, for example, is the tendency towards more cost-effective and space-saving applications with low payloads. With ready2 palletize light, Kuka is presenting a new application package at Fachpack that has been specially designed for palletizing light goods. The complete solution consists of a robot from the KR Cybertech family, the KR C4 controller, the software for controlling the entire palletizing cell and two unloading stations. Ready2 palletize light can be dismantled within an hour and reassembled at a new location, thus guaranteeing maximum flexibility.

Pick-and-pack of unsorted parts
Peripheral hardware and software solutions are also becoming increasingly important. This is why Kuka, together with its system partner Robomotion, is presenting a robot cell with a packaging application whose centerpiece is the new Pickcontrol software. It has been available since mid-2018 and enables the simple and cost-effective commissioning of up to eight robots for pick-and-pack tasks for unsorted parts - on several conveyor belts. In addition, the robots no longer have to be programmed individually, but can be easily configured using step-by-step support.

As megatrends such as digitalization and networking are also playing an increasingly important role in the packaging industry, Kuka is showcasing the cloud-based software platforms Connect and Smartproduction. With Connect, customers can access and analyze their robots' data anywhere and at any time. Smartproduction makes it possible to connect an entire production line with the digital world. The software processes the data from all process-relevant machines and components. Not only products can be integrated into the Smartproduction environment, but all process-relevant components of a production line.

As part of the Kuka Group, Swisslog will be presenting the mobile goods-to-person system Carrypick. Carrypick is an automated warehouse and order processing system that includes the KMP 600 mobile transport unit and the system software. The autonomously moving platform travels under the shelves, lifts them and transports them to the respective workstation as quickly as possible. The system is controlled by the Synq Warehouse Management Software. as

Hall 3, Stand 3-223