MODEX 2024: FANUC America to showcase robots for warehouse applications

Warehouse and manufacturing robot manufacturer FANUC America recently announced it will demonstrate robots performing a variety of tasks at MODEX 2024 in booth B4026. 

The trade show will be held March 11-14 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. 

FANUC said it will showcase automation products equipped with AI-enabled machine vision designed to help companies future proof their supply chain.

The company will demonstrate robots performing automated induction, palletization and depalletization, as well as cobot setups for order fulfillment and a vertical put wall.

Automated handling of difficult-to-segment boxes, bagged items

The new FANUC M-710iD/50M robot arm - combined with two iRVision 3DV/1600 vision sensors - will use FANUC’s iPC box-detection software to locate boxes within stock carts. The robot will depalletize boxes from one cart, then palletize them on an opposite cart. 

FANUC said its AI-driven iPC enables picking in challenging lighting conditions and for boxes with patterns that are difficult to segment and determine edge locations. The M-710iD/50M’s curved arm can reach into tall stock carts.

Additionally, a FANUC LR-10iA/10 robot arm will demonstrate induction of bagged clothing items. The robot will be guided by an iRVision 3DV/400 vision sensor mounted over a work cell, picking various bagged clothing items from a tote and dropping them onto a conveyor belt.

Integrated order fulfillment with Locus AMRs

FANUC will demonstrate an automated order fulfillment system with CRX cobot arms and a Locus Robotics autonomous mobile robot (AMR). FANUC’s robot arms used in the demonstration will be equipped with iRVision machine vision sensors to scan QR codes as well as locate items and bins in their work areas.

CRX-10iA robot arms will pick and place items between shelves and bins. The shelf-to-bin robot’s 3DV/200 vision sensor will be arm mounted, while the bin-to-shelf robot’s 3DV/600 vision sensor will be fixed. The company will also offer an opportunity for visitors to program its CRX-10iA.

A CRX-20iA/L robot arm - also equipped with a 3DV/200 sensor - will move bins between tables and a Locus AMR, replacing full bins with empty ones. The AMR will communicate with the CRX once it is in the correct position, and the CRX will inform the AMR when it has finished swapping bins.

FANUC said its CRX-20iA/L features a wide motion range, and can pick items or bins of varying shapes and sizes up to 20kg. The company said its order fulfillment setup can be scaled up or down for different operations.

Vertical put wall combining motion control and robot arm

FANUC will demonstrate a vertical put wall using its Power Motion i Model A Plus (PMi-AP) motion control system in conjunction with a CRX-10iA.

The PMi-AP will control the put wall system, moving bins from the wall to a conveyor belt. Bins will then be conveyed to an access point for the CRX-10iA, which will pick and place items between storage wall bins and order fulfillment ones.

FANUC said its PMi-A offers CNC-style motion control for automated assembly and other applications. The general-purpose motion control system is integrated through an ethernet connection, enabling communication between robots.

Want to learn more about cobot arms? This article was featured in the April 2024 Robotics 24/7 Special Focus Issue titled “Collaborating with robot arms, platforms.”