What Are Pick & Place and Packaging Robots?

Pick & Place and packaging robots are advanced-technology systems that automate the process of picking products (boxes, bags, bottles, electronic parts, etc.) at high speed from a belt or hopper ("pick") and placing them with millimetric accuracy into the desired box, carton or other transport form ("place"), at the end of production lines or during the dispatch stage. Usually equipped with Delta-type (spider robots) or SCARA-type arms, these systems can manage even complex and variable product flows within seconds thanks to AI-powered machine-vision capabilities.

What Are the Key Advantages?

The greatest advantage these robots provide is high operational speed that exceeds the limits of human hands in speed and continuity. They can place tens or even hundreds of products per minute tirelessly and with the same precision. They completely eliminate the musculoskeletal disorders people may suffer from repetitive movements and errors caused by loss of attention. Because they achieve a flawless packing arrangement every time, they minimize the risk of products inside the box being damaged during transport. In addition, in hygiene-sensitive sectors such as food and pharmaceuticals, they ensure maximum sterility by removing the "human factor."

In Which Sectors and Applications Is It Used?

It is indispensable across all fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors where speed and precision are required together. They are used intensively especially in food packaging (arranging chocolate, biscuits, snacks), the pharmaceutical/cosmetics industry (bottle/box arrangement), electronic component assembly, and e-commerce "order picking" (placement into boxes) processes.

What Should You Consider When Investing?

During the investment stage, synchronization between the robot's cycle time and the line's speed is the most critical point. The gripper mechanism to be used must be specially designed to suit the product's form (sensitive, sticky, heavy, vacuum-able, etc.). The machine-vision software must be able to recognize products and pick them at the right angle even if their position on the belt is irregular (chaotic). In addition, the system having a programmable and flexible infrastructure so it can adapt to future product-size changes accelerates the return on investment (ROI).

Why ACS Intralogistics Solutions?

As ACS Intralogistics Solutions, we take your facility's packaging operations out of being a manual burden and turn them into an autonomous, error-free 24/7 process.

We engineer our robotic cells not as isolated machines but as a holistic automation line that communicates end to end with our conveyors at the entrance to your packaging line, our case-erecting units and our robotic palletizing systems at the exit. With our advanced AI and vision systems, no matter how your products arrive on the belt, our robots pick and pack them flawlessly. With cells designed specifically for your facility, we reduce waste on your packaging line to zero, lower your labor costs and take your operational speed to the highest level in the industry.