Trending Industries in Robotic Material Handling

Material handling is among the most popular applications in industrial robotics, with most automation systems including at least some aspects of this category. Robotic material handling systems improve production, quality, consistency, and flexibility while decreasing worker accidents, scrap, and floor space utilization. Robots are now being called upon to handle a wide variety of materials from large vehicles to plasma samples.
 
Industry Trends 
Outside of the traditional automotive and industrial manufacturing industries, robotic material handling systems have recently been adopted by a surge of different industries.   The benefits of using robots for material handling have been realized across a wide scope of applications.
 
Food & Beverage
Advancements in robot design, vision systems, and end-of-arm tooling have made it possible for robots to work closely with food and beverage products. Food and beverage companies are using robots to better meet sanitation and production standards for process and packaging operations. Not only do robots promote a more sterilized environment, they also take more precise counts during production, leading to the ability to track packages from the shelves back to its origins.
 
Healthcare
Pharmaceutical companies, surgeons, and medical device manufactures are implementing automated material handling systems into their labs and operating rooms. An automated system within the healthcare industry not only maximizes efficiency, but also creates safe, quiet, and clean production. Some examples of robotic material handling applications are: medical device assembly/packaging, pharmaceutical manufacturing/packaging, and patient manipulation.
 
Aerospace
Material handling systems are being used to assist in the aircraft manufacturing process from producing flight components to performing maintenance. The aerospace industry demands high quality and restrictive tolerances from every operation. Robotic material handling systems are a good fit for aerospace applications because of their ability to produce high quality and consistent processes.
 
Distribution Centers
Distribution facilities are handling a large number of products that need to be delivered fast and accurately. Operations also must manage changes in inventory and value added services. Automated material handling systems are helping distribution centers to increase order fulfillment speeds while maximizing accuracy and overall facility optimization.
 
Robotic Material Handling Applications
Material handling robots have the ability to move, transfer, load/unload, selects, or packages products faster and more accurately than ever before. Robots are changing the way companies are moving products in plants and distribution centers. Although the possibilities for material handling robots are endless, below is a list of popular applications:

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• Bin Picking
• Case & Pallet Transportation
• Robotic Pick & Place Solutions
• Custom Conveyor Design
• Custom Manipulator & Lift Assist Systems
• Integrated Sortation Systems
• Conveyor Integration

 Midwest Engineering Systems Inc. integrates cost effective material handling systems from simple pick and place solutions to fully automated lines. We offer a variety of conveyance solutions for case / pallet transportation and professional installation in manufacturing and distribution facilities. Contact Midwest Engineering Systems for more information.