The topic of robotic, or automatic, mixed pallet building has come up quite a bit recently, so I thought I’d share some of the benefits and challenges that go along with it.

To give you some background, a few years ago companies started building rainbow packs, which are basically a box or bag of products that contain smaller quantities of different flavors or product lines. This allows consumers to sample a variety of items without buying large quantities of each.

So what does all of that have to do with robotic mixed pallet building? Well, the concept of rainbow packs actually stemmed from the advent of mixed pallet building first used by the material handling and logistics industries.

Read More >>

I’ve been in the industrial robotics industry for nearly a decade and during my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work for both integrators and for a manufacturer of industrial robotic arms. One of the questions that I’ve had many clients ask me over the years is whether they should buy a robotic solution directly from the manufacturer or from an integrator.

Read More >>

Many companies wonder whether robots are safe to implement in their facility. Although an industrial robot will improve the ergonomic conditions in a production area, there is a perception that the robot will create an unsafe work environment.

Although industrial robots do contain some potential hazards, they are all preventable as long as workers are well educated on the robotic system and the robotic integrator has fulfilled all job requirements, including proper installation, programming, and risk assessment.

Read More >>

Over the past 20 years robots have evolved very quickly. From Giant Hydraulic behemoths to very small delta robots (aka: spiders). This is remarkable, given the constraints in terms of perception, costs versus real capability and general acceptance in the industrial, let alone Material Handling industries.

Bastian Robotics recently donated several pieces of powered conveyor, gravity conveyor, electric controls, hydraulic and pneumatic hardware for Vincennes University to use in their Indiana Center for Applied Technology building (ICAT).

The University recently purchased 28 ABB robots for their workforce redevelopment program and needed ancillary equipment to present the robots in a meaningful setting for the students…