Heading Upstream: Technology Takes Robotics Up the Packaging Line: Advanced networking, integration and controls drive the implementation of robots beyond end-of-line applications

摘要

The use of robotic technologies has long afforded manufacturers the advantages of greater productivity, higher product quality, reduced production costs and labor savings. Last year's "Trends in Robotics Market Assessment 2014" from PMMI, illustrated the growth in robotics use. According to the study, 75 percent of end users employed robotics at some point on their manufacturing lines by 2014, compared with only 20 percent in 2008. Now, robots and their benefits are moving far beyond their early uses in palletizing, working their way upstream into more primary and secondary packaging applications.