Robots Invade DCs

As an industry with it roots firmly embedded in general manufacturing and automotive assembly, robotics has seen its share of declines in North America as production moves offshore and the economy nosedives. But that doesn't mean doom and gloom for material handling robotics. Robot suppliers say the high-tech equipment is not going away; rather, it's moving into warehouses and distribution centers (DCs). Goods made offshore still need to be stored and processed through local distribution, they emphasize. What's more, distribution challenges, particularly in food, grocery and consumer goods, are not getting any easier.

“The next big step in automation will be in the DC,” predicts Marc Ducharme, vice president of palletizing solutions at Axium. The Montreal-based company develops robotic systems for the food and consumer goods industries. “Distribution used to have a black-sheep perception, but that's changing because there are new ways to automate DCs,” he says.

Robotics has reached a “tipping point,” adds Dick Motley, account manager of national distribution sales at Fanuc Robotics. “Cost has come down and systems are more reliable and flexible, allowing greater access to technology.”

Motley agrees that robotic technologies are moving out of manufacturing and into warehousing. “We see interest in high-speed picking, especially from freezer to flow wrapper and then through packaging and palletizing,” he says.

Ducharme has seen interest in robotic layer depalletizers and mixed-load palletizers for projects set to go live in two to eight months. As a result, he expects an economic rebound in the second quarter of 2010. “Companies seem to be preparing for when the economy comes back,” he says.

Joseph Cyrek, director of advanced engineering, joining and vision technologies at Comau Inc., concurs. “From a robotic systems viewpoint, the last 12 months have been very difficult,” he says. “All market segments have seen reduced activity, with the biggest decline being in the automotive sector. The lone exception is the aerospace industry, where orders have actually risen in the last 12 months.”

Like Ducharme, Cyrek believes a turnaround will begin in the second quarter of 2010. “Customers are sending requests for proposals (RFPs) now for projects due to be implemented in the 2010 to 2013 timeframe,” he says.

The Rainbow Connection

Robotics suppliers say a large number of RFPs are focusing on packaging because of increasing demands from retailers. “Motoman is seeing a dramatic increase in packaging market activity,” says Tom Sipple, material handling technology leader at Motoman.

It's the palletizing function within packaging that's getting the most attention. That's because an increasing number of retailers require DCs to build mixed (rainbow) pallets, consisting of items of various sizes, shapes and weights. Many DCs must create built-to-order loads in store-ready configurations.

“The challenge is to build a puzzle where the pallet is made of a variety of shapes, sizes and weights that goes to the point of retail,” says Motley. “On the distribution side, software algorithms can complete a 3D puzzle of boxes of unlike sizes and build it into a store-specific or even truck-route-specific load,” he says. “Versatile tooling can handle a variety of products for mixed-load palletizing, and robotic vision systems and software can evaluate stability and shipping density to help build that pallet puzzle.”

Early next year, Axium plans to introduce a new mixed palletizing system, the ROP (robotic order picking) 2000. A faster version of the company's ROP 600, the ROP 2000 will process 2,000 cases per hour. Cube IQ software “talks” to the robot, telling it where to place cases of different sizes and shapes to optimize the pallet load.