Robot acquisition tackles food and beverage challenges

At the PPMA Total Show 2016, Omron will formally announce its acquisition of Adept Technologies, an established US based manufacturer and global supplier of industrial robots. The takeover has added 49 best-in-class robots to Omron’s portfolio and enables the company to offer food and beverage producers all three primary classes of robots together with an established global service infrastructure.

Critically, the deal has broadened Omron’s portfolio with the addition of six axis articulated robots. The new brand, named Omron Adept Technologies, can now offer a larger range of robots across all three primary classes – SCARA, delta and six axis.

“The modern food packaging industry is becoming characterised by shorter production runs with higher numbers of product variants, resulting in lines handling more products than ever before and needing fast changeover times from one product to another,” comments Dan Rossek, Omron marketing manager. “To help our customers develop a flexible manufacturing operation, it’s vital that we offer all styles of robot and individually adapt each to suit a wide range of applications from processing and primary packaging through to end of line solutions – Omron Adept Technologies is a game changer for manufacturers looking for a single source automation equipment supplier.”

Omron has seamlessly integrated all 49 robots into the machine control environment managed by Omron’s Sysmac automation platform and programming system. Amongst the brightest new stars in the Omron Adept Technologies range is the Quattro s650H Delta (or ‘parallel’) robot. Claimed to be the world’s fastest industrial robot, it is specifically designed for high-speed applications in food/beverage packaging, manufacturing, assembly and material handling. It is the only parallel robot in the world that features a patented four-arm design (rather than the usual three), advanced control algorithms, and large working envelope. This makes it an ideal, overhead-mounted robot for smooth motion, high-throughput applications.

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