At the 2024 Pack Expo Chicago, FANUC America presented its latest automation technology for the packaging and processing industry, focusing on food-grade collaborative and industrial robots. Located in booth #N-5332, FANUC featured robotic systems designed to address production demands, supply chain constraints, and labor shortages through automated processes.
One demonstration highlighted the FANUC CRX-20iA/L Food-Grade Cobot, which has a reach of 1,418 mm. In a bakery simulation, the cobot placed cookies from a conveyor belt onto trays, using the iRVision 3DV/400 vision system for precise handling. A dual-cobot setup showcased automated loading and unloading of bakery trays, illustrating FANUC’s use of vision-guided robotics for efficient bakery workflows.
The FANUC CRX-30iA cobot, shown for the first time at Pack Expo, was also on display. With a 30 kg payload capacity and a reach of 1,756 mm, it used PalletTool 3 software to palletize cases onto two pallets. Additionally, FANUC introduced an interface on its Tablet TP, allowing users with minimal technical experience to program the CRX-10iA cobot for kitting tasks in gift box assembly, emphasizing ease-of-use in food packing.
The DR-3iB/6 STAINLESS delta robot was demonstrated for high-speed picking of primary food products, such as fish fillets. Made from stainless steel, this food-grade model utilized iRVision and iRPickTool line tracking for precise placement, showing capabilities for sanitary handling of perishable items. Additional demonstrations included the LR Mate 200iD series, used to assemble cheeseburgers with toppings in a repeatable cycle, showcasing FANUC’s food-grade and cleanroom-compatible robots in food assembly.
For automated palletizing and depalletizing, FANUC demonstrated the M-710iD/50M robot, which used AI-driven iPC software to locate boxes under varied lighting conditions. The robot transferred boxes between carts using its curved-arm design to support high-demand palletizing tasks.
FANUC also introduced its R-50iA robot controller with integrated cyber-security features. This controller was demonstrated in a heavy-payload palletizing cell, showcasing enhancements aimed at improving automation performance in demanding applications.
