FANUC Demonstrates Automation Solutions for Warehousing and Logistics at Modex 2022

New CRX Cobots Make Their North American Debut

For Immediate Release

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI – (March 21, 2022) – FANUC America, the world leader in CNCs, robotics, and ROBOMACHINEs, will demonstrate two new CRX collaborative robots, and a variety of automation solutions for the warehousing and logistics industries at Modex 2022, March 28-31 in Atlanta, in booth #B6855.     

NEW! CRX Collaborative Robots

FANUC recently expanded its popular series of CRX collaborative robots with the new CRX-5iA, CRX-20iA/L and CRX-25iA.  The new CRX cobots complement FANUC’s existing line of CR and CRX cobots that now total 11 model variations able to handle products from 4 to 35kg. 

CRX Cobot Demonstrations

A new CRX-25iA robot, offering a 25kg payload will demonstrate case palletizing.  Guided by a 3DV/200 vision sensor mounted to the arm, the CRX-25iA will palletize boxes to nearly 7’ high. 

“Stacking boxes all day is a tedious job that can lead to repetitive motion injuries,” said Eric Potter, general manager of FANUC America’s General Industries and Automotive Engineering groups.  “The new CRX-25iA cobot is a great solution for palletizing, allowing companies to redeploy employees to perform other valuable roles in their facility.”

The new CRX-20iA/L cobot equipped with a 3DV/200 vision sensor will pick consumer items of varying sizes and shapes that weigh up to 20kg, and load them onto a storage cart.  The demonstration highlights the cobot’s wide range of motion and ability to handle large and heavy packages.

In addition, a CRX-10iA will demonstrate packing health and beauty products.  Attendees are invited to try the cobot’s intuitive hand guidance and easy-to-use tablet programming.    

CRX Collaborative Robots: Easy to Use and Flexible

Designed for companies looking to increase their capabilities and overcome labor issues, FANUC’s CRX cobots are extremely robust and able to run for up to eight years without maintenance.  In addition, interactive programming enables users to teach points using hand guidance or a tablet interface with drag and drop icons.  

FANUC’s line of CRX cobots are very easy-to-use, reliable, and offer the flexibility to perform a variety of jobs including inspection, machine load/unload, packing, palletizing, sanding, welding, and many more.   The CRX cobots can detect external forces in the workspace, stopping safely when making contact with a person or object.  This technology allows the CRX to work safely alongside people without the need for expensive guarding. 

The CRX series supports several of FANUC’s advanced features including iRVision®, and is a perfect fit for any company looking to achieve higher efficiencies – even those that have yet to use their first robot. 

Hamper Picking with the M-20iD/25 Robot and 3DV/1600 Vision Sensor

The M-20iD/25 robot equipped with a 3DV/1600 vision sensor will quickly find and snap shipping boxes and envelopes of varying sizes and shapes from a bin/hamper.  The robot picks each package and drops it into another bin.  Once the first bin is empty, the sensor moves to the full bin and the cycle repeats.   The demonstration highlights how using robotic vision is ideal for applications in the warehousing, logistics and e-commerce sectors. 

The M-20iD/25 is a compact and versatile material handling robot.  Its powerful 25kg payload, unique design, and best-in-class ratings for payload, speed, and repeatability offers customers a reliable and high-performance solution for packaging, load/unload, part handling, and assembly applications. 

Perfect for tight workspaces, the M-20iD/25 features a small footprint, slim profile, and curved J2 arm that minimizes interference with other equipment.  Its 1831mm reach provides an extremely large work envelope, and a rigid design offers +/- 0.02mm repeatability, maximizing throughput.  In addition, a large and hollow wrist and arm for fully integrated cable management helps simplify installation.

High-Speed, Vision-Guided Induction/Singulation

A FANUC M-10iD/12 robot equipped with an iRVision 3DV/1600 sensor identifies and picks random packages coming down a chute onto a conveyor, and places each item onto an outbound conveyor.  Double picks are identified by an iRVision 3DV/600 sensor, and the robot returns duplicate packages to the pick conveyor.  Once a single package is on the outbound conveyor it is recirculated and the cycle repeats. 

“This cell demonstrates how automation can effectively induct and singulate products for downstream sortation,” said Anthony Cantrell, Logistics and e-Commerce executive sales manager for FANUC America.  “Compared with manual operations, customers benefit from shorter pick times, improved order accuracy, higher productivity and reduced ergonomic issues.”

Vision-Guided Piece Picking 

This demo also uses a FANUC M-10iD/12 robot guided by four 3DV/400 vision sensors mounted over the workcell to pick various combinations of products from four separate totes to demonstrate order fulfillment.  When the order tote is completed, it moves to the opposite side of the cell, where an LR Mate 200iD robot picks and places each item back onto the conveyor, sorting them by color to refill the pick totes.    

FANUC M-10iD and LR Mate 200iD Robot Series

The M-10iD robot series includes four compact material handling robots - the M-10iD/12, M-10iD/10L, M-10iD/8L and M-10iD/16S.  Rated best-in-class for speed and repeatability, the M-10iD robots offer a sleek and lightweight design, and feature internal cable routing and a curved J2 robot arm, minimizing interference with work pieces and fixtures.  The robots’ payload capabilities range from 8-16kg, allowing them to handle a variety of products.   In addition, a long reach (1103mm to 2032mm) and stroke - even in the backflip region – makes it easier for customers to apply the robots while maximizing their available workspace – including larger parts or tooling.   

The popular LR Mate 200iD series of tabletop industrial robots offer a “best in class” work envelope for both upright and invert mount installations. Ten models include clean room and wash proof versions, each with various wrist speeds and reaches to accommodate even the most limited workspace.  The LR Mate series was introduced 30 years ago, and since that time has become one of FANUC’s most popular robot models with over 70,000 units installed globally.  

FANUC M-410iC/110 Palletizing/Depalletizing with HMI

The M-410iC/110 robot will pick cases from two conveyors and palletize mixed layer unit loads.   Visitors can select from a preset number of unit loads using an Allen-Bradley HMI screen.  Once selected, the HMI displays the unit load and the robot palletizes four layers.  The demonstration shows how easy it is to change layers on the fly.   Finally, the robot de-palletizes the cases, and the cycle repeats. 

The system highlights FANUC’s latest PLC Motion Interface option designed to enable palletizing operators to program homogeneous or mixed unit loads using FANUC Add-On Instructions (AOIs).  This helps simplify the deployment of FANUC robots into facilities with operators that have no robot programming experience, but are familiar with Rockwell PLCs. 

The M-410iC/110 robot is designed for high-volume case, bag and bottle palletizing operations.  It features a 110 kg payload, four-axis articulation, a compact footprint, and a slim arm with through-arm cable routing to simplify dress-out and minimize interference with tooling and other peripheral devices.   The ability to perform 2200 standard palletizing cycles an hour with a 60kg payload makes the M-410iC/110 the fastest palletizing robot in its class.  It also features a compact footprint and a 646 mm interference radius, ideal for tight workspaces. 

Power Motion i-MODEL A

FANUC’s Power Motion i is a perfect solution for a wide range of material handling motion control needs. The demonstration showcases PMi’s multi-path process capability to control multiple carriages via asynchronous G-Code programs. Offering powerful CNC and PLC technology together, PMi is more versatile than just a PLC, perfect for tasks involving multiple axes, paths, speeds and torque controls.

FANUC 3DV Vision Sensor

FANUC’s suite of iRVision 3DV sensors are fully integrated and complete machine vision products for robot guidance and inspection.  There are five 3DV sensors offering small to large fields of view from 50mm to 3M (3000mm) square.  All of the sensors are lightweight and work as a fixed or robot-mounted 3D vision camera.  The 3DV sensors are ideal for de-palletizing, kitting, bin/tote picking, presence/absence check, 3D visual line tracking and many more applications. The 3DV sensor is also a great option for 2D applications with low contrast or hard to find targets.

FANUC designs all of its vision hardware and software specifically for FANUC robots, providing customers with solutions that meet their production needs, and saves them the time and expense required by third-party vision suppliers. 

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About FANUC America Corporation

FANUC America Corporation is a subsidiary of FANUC CORPORATION in Japan and provides industry-leading CNC systems, robotics, and ROBOMACHINEs. FANUC’s innovative technologies help manufacturers maximize productivity, reliability, and profitability. Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan, FANUC America has facilities throughout North and South America. Learn more at www.fanucamerica.com or explore collaborative robots at crx.fanucamerica.com.

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