Fanuc America, a global industrial automation technology supplier, will showcase its latest packaging and processing innovations at Pack Expo International Chicago 2024, including a new robot controller that has obtained cybersecurity certification.
From food-grade cobots to stainless industrial robots, a wide range of agile solutions will demonstrate uninterrupted speed, reliability, accuracy and dexterity—all while maintaining food safety—in real-world applications.
Fanuc’s automation technologies provide solutions to common industry challenges, including production, supply chain, and labor shortages. Featured cobots and robots include:
- Easy-to-use, food-grade CRX Collaborative Robots
- High-speed and versatile SCARA Robots
- FANUC DR-3iB/6 STAINLESS Food-Grade Delta Robot
- The food-grade/cleanroom type, long-reach LR Mate 200iD/7LC robot
Delivering reliability and accuracy that minimizes error, reduces product waste, and enhances overall quality control, Fanuc solutions will be shown in demonstrations that address common industry challenges, including picking, packing, and palletizing applications.
Collaborative robots
- Food-grade cobot bakery tray load and unload with iRVision
In this entirely new dual-cobot cell, attendees will see the controlled loading and unloading of cookies on bakery trays. Demonstrating its 1,418 mm of reach, the CRX-20iA/L Food-Grade Cobot will use 3DV/400 iRVision mounted to its arm to locate and unload cookies from a tray and place them onto a conveyor, simulating a seamless cookie baking operation. A second CRX-20iA/L will then use a bakery tray to catch the cookies coming off the end of the conveyor and then place the now-full trays onto a cart. - Food-grade cobot palletizing
The Fanuc CRX-30iA food-grade cobot—with a 30 kg payload and 1,756 mm of reach—will use PalletTool 3 software to efficiently palletize two pallets from a single infeed using a multi-case gripper. - Intuitive cobot programming
In this kitting demonstration, attendees are able to use drag-and-drop icon based programming on the Fanuc Tablet TP and three-button wrist to easily kit meat and cheese gift boxes with the CRX-10iA cobot. Ideal for those with little to no robotic experience, the cobot’s ease of programming is paired with Fanuc’s technology, proven reliability, and sensitive contact detection that allows the CRX-10iA to work safely alongside people.
Industrial robots
- High speed picking application with line tracking tools
The DR-3iB/6 Stainless is Fanuc’s first stainless steel food-grade delta robot for picking and packing primary food products, setting new benchmarks for payload, speed, reach and sanitation in robotic food handling. Using iRVision and iRPickTool line tracking software, this delta robot demonstration picks and places randomly oriented fish fillets alongside an SR-12iA/C, showcasing high speeds and product reorientation. - Food assembly with food-grade robots
Offering a best-in-class work envelope for both upright and invert mount installations, the LR Mate 200iD series of tabletop industrial robots assembles cheeseburgers in this demonstration. Working alongside the SR-6iA/C will be the LR Mate 200iD/7LC – both food-grade/cleanroom robots – picking and placing buns, burgers and toppings before removing and reversing order so that the cycle can repeat. - Automated palletizing and depalletizing
The six-axis M-710iD/50M robot, combined with two iRVision 3DV/1600 vision sensors and the Fanuc iPC, will use the iPC’s AI Box Detection software to locate boxes within stock carts. Once located, the robot will depalletize boxes from one cart and utilize PalletTool to palletize them on the opposite cart. With one cart empty, the process will be repeated by depalletizing and palletizing back to the original cart. In this demo, tall stock carts highlight the advantage provided by the M-710i50-/50M’s curved arm. FANUC’s AI-driven iPC enables high-performance advanced picking in challenging lighting conditions to ensure seamless, reliable depalletizing.
Robotic controllers
- Powerful performance with Fanuc’s new robot controller
Just announced, the new R-50iA robot controller offers cybersecurity with a wide range of enhancements and new intelligent features designed to maximize robot performance. Specifically, R-50iA has obtained third-party certification for international cybersecurity: IEC62443-4-1 and 4-2. It provides multiple layers of defense to secure data exchange, whether it’s remote access (SSH), file transfers (SFTP), or web communication (HTTPS). The R-50iA also includes password-based user authentication, simplifying the management of user groups in the field. This feature ensures authorized access while effectively preventing unauthorized entry.
