Every manufacturing company knows that the value creation process does not end with final assembly. To ensure that products can be delivered on time and in the desired quality, the last step on the production line must also be well thought out - packaging and palletizing. Robots are a popular tool for automating these processes. This is also confirmed by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The number of packaging robots installed worldwide each year increased fifteen-fold from 2007 to 2017 to around 32,600 units. In the same period, the number of palletizing and order picking applications tripled to just under 10,000 units in 2017.

One of the drivers of this development is the generation of collaborative lightweight robots (cobots). Companies often integrate robotic arms into existing systems to which employees must have direct access. The fundamental criterion when purchasing a new robot is its ability to collaborate - i.e. to be used directly alongside humans without a protective housing. In addition, user-friendliness and ease of set-up are the overriding principles of collaborative robotics. The implementation of the cobots and their changeover from one task to another is therefore efficient and resource-saving.

Wide range of robot applications
Universal Robots (UR) is a pioneer in this field of automation. The world market leader's cobots are designed to work directly with the user - light, flexible and intuitive to operate. This makes them an uncomplicated and cost-effective alternative to conventional industrial robots, such as Cartesian machines, whose share in the packaging sector is declining - from 71% in 2015 to 51% in just two years, according to IFR.

Given the broad range of applications for the technology, this is hardly surprising:

• The UR robots can automate almost any conceivable task.
• Typical applications in the packaging sector are Labeling and packaging of products or stacking on pallets.
• The UR models are named after their load capacity in kilograms: UR3, UR5 and UR10.

Robots in a practical test
When it comes to palletizing, larger and stronger robots are a particularly suitable choice, such as the UR10. With a working radius of up to 1.3 meters and a load capacity of 10 kilograms, it can stack goods extremely efficiently - for example at Gustav Hensel GmbH und Co KG. As the final component of a fully automated system of assembly and packaging machines for the production of cable junction boxes, a UR10 moves around 2.5 tons of packaged goods per shift.

For smaller tasks such as labeling or packaging, companies like to choose the more compact UR5 and UR3 models. Atria Scandinavia, the largest manufacturer of vegetarian gourmet products in Northern Europe, for example, uses three UR robot arms in its packaging line. They label the food, pack it in cartons and finally stack it on pallets. In this way, they prepare almost 230 items per hour for delivery.