Pick and place automation refers to using robots and automated equipment to pick up items from point A and place them in point B. 

Robots like Standard Bots RO1 and FANUC M-710iC/50 can help you have a happier, more productive shop floor (with a comparatively small investment). 

Read on to learn: 

• What is it and what are the benefits? 
• How can you automate your shop floor with it? 
• Types of pick-and-place automation robots
• Applications 
• Challenges and considerations
• Top 3 pick-and-place robots
• What’s next? 

Let’s dive right into it. 

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What is pick and place automation?

Pick-and-place automation uses robotic systems, and AI-driven robots and cobots (collaborative robots) in manufacturing jobs for choosing parts, orienting them, and putting them in the right spot. 

Why automate your pick-and-place operation? If you run a manufacturing facility, automating your pick and place processes should be priority #1.

Here are some simple benefits:

• Save time: Pick-and-place robots can work 24/7 with zero breaks, completing jobs in a fraction of the time it would take humans. This lets people be people and focus on high-level tasks.
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• Cut costs: Automating repetitive jobs reduces or outright eliminates the need for additional staffing to handle increased production. Plus, it also lowers the risk of tragic workplace injuries and errors that could halt operations.
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• Boost quality: Robots provide consistent, precise placement and picking. They don't get tired, distracted by life situations, or absent-minded, so they handle each part with care and accuracy
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• Have a safer workplace: Anyone who’s ever seen a workplace accident has our back here. Pick-and-place automation makes workplaces safer and more efficient — and a pleasure to work at. 

Read about the 3 types of pick and place mechanisms next. 

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How can you automate your machine shop with pick-and-place robots?

Thankfully, automating your pick-and-place operations is easier than ever before. 

Of course, some methods will be easier to integrate, and others will require a significant overhaul of your shop floor. 

In broad strokes, here are your options: 

• CNC machines: From lathes and mills to routers and grinders, CNC executes pre-programmed tasks precisely, giving a boost to accuracy, consistency, and output.
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• Industrial robots & collaborative robots (cobots): These bots take care of repetitive jobs like material handling, loading/unloading machines, and even performing basic machining operations — all at high speeds. The popular types include SCARA, Delta, Cartesian, and six-axis robots.
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• Automated material handling systems: Conveyor belts, robotic arms, and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) can significantly streamline material flow.

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Types of pick-and-place automation robots. 

Are you looking for the lowdown on pick-and-place robot types? Here’s a quick TL;DR on the type:

Now let’s go into more details on each type so you can know which would be best for your business:

Cartesian robots

First up are Cartesian robots. These are the classic three-axis robots that move along the X, Y, and Z axes. 

They're all about precise, linear movement, which is why you'll often find them in assembly tasks where accuracy is essential. They're fast and can cover long distances, even with heavy stuff, but their movement is strictly in straight lines.

Delta robots

Then there’s the Delta robots. They have a spider-like appearance, with parallelogram-shaped arms, but they’re super quick and accurate, covering a work area between 500 to 1500mm. 

They're fantastic for moving objects with precision without missing a beat. The catch is their complex design, which often means higher costs and more involved integration processes. 

Also, technology is catching up, making Delta robots faster and more efficient.

SCARA robots

SCARA robots stand for Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm. These have a four-axis design. Their large work envelope is a big plus, allowing them to reach around obstacles. 

The first two joints move for extension, retraction, and rotation, while the last two mimic a wrist motion. These robots excel at high-speed pick and place and assembly jobs that need a wider motion range.

Six-axis robots

These are the crème de la crème of pick-and-place and packaging robot lists. 

With "6DOF," standing for Six Degrees Of Freedom, the articulated multi-joint arms can twist and turn 360 degrees, grabbing objects from almost any position. 

They're perfect for complex assembly, full-on robotic packaging systems, CNC machine tending, and loading/unloading tasks, especially when the items are in tricky positions or orientations. 

The downside? They're usually slower and pricier, but the industry is evolving, and faster models are coming up in extremely competitive price ranges.

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Applications in various industries

Pick-and-place robots are everywhere. From factory floors to food production lines, these bots are making life easier in many industries. 

Let’s take a look at the most important examples: 

• Electronics: Ever wonder how your smartphone gets assembled with microscopic precision? Tiny components need fast, accurate placement, and pick-and-place robots do it with far more efficiency than even the most steady-handed human. 
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• Food and beverage: Sorting, packaging, and handling food products at high speeds with near-zero human contact and contamination? Perfect job for a pick-and-place robot. They keep things clean, consistent, and contamination-free.
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• Automotive: Whether it’s handling parts on an assembly line or loading materials for welding, robots speed up production while reducing errors. Cars aren’t going to build themselves… yet.
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• Pharmaceuticals: When precision is literally a life-or-death situation, you need robots. Pick-and-place automation means pill bottles, syringes, and vials are perfectly sorted and packed. 

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Challenges and considerations before automating

There are several things to keep in mind before you decide to go ahead and automate your production. Since these factors will affect your decision-making, think thoroughly about your specific needs before you go ahead. 

These factors are: 

Costs

Automating your pick and place operation requires an initial investment, so you’ll want to evaluate the total cost of ownership. 

Most robots will vary between $2,000 to $100,000. 

Smaller cobots tend to have lower upfront costs compared to larger Industrial robots. Some, like Standard Bots’ RO1, even have lease models for as low as $5/hr. 

Industrial robots, on the other hand, tend to have extremely specialized specs (like higher payloads). But that comes with a much, much heftier price tag. 

Assess your needs before you buy a part-picking robot.

Speed and throughput 

How quickly do you need to pick and place items? If you have a high-volume operation, a fast pick-and-place robot will help you keep cycle times short.

Also, six-axis articulated arm robots and Delta robots can offer extremely flexible robots. Cobots are ideal for shared workspaces with human workers, offering customization and safety features, and they can handle high-volume operations depending on their design.

However, industrial pick-and-place robots typically have a higher payload capacity and speed, which may be what you need if you have a larger operation or one requiring robots to carry massive weights fast.

Location 

Have a clear picture of the environment where your pick-and-place robot will operate: Industrial robots tend to be well-suited for harsh or hazardous environments, while cobots are ideal for shared workspaces with human workers. 

Power

We’re not asking how much it can bench, no. The maximum weight a pick-and-place robot can lift, known as its payload capacity, is an important factor to consider based on the weights of parts or products in your operation. 

Payload capacities range from a few to hundreds of kg, depending on whether it’s a small or heavy-duty pick-and-place robot.

Complexity

How complex is your operation when it comes to pick-and-place jobs? More advanced cobots will offer increased flexibility, agility, and re-programming options for intricate, varied automation. Conversely, simple pick and place operations can most likely require a more basic robot. Think about the level of customization you need for your specific application.

Employee training

This is one of the most important parts of getting employee buy-in and correct deployment. The Wall Street Journal estimates that Amazon’s new warehouse will rely on robotic workers more, and this is exactly the sort of scenario that even SMEs will likely face in the coming years.

Training employees appropriately will ensure not only correct human-robot collaboration, but also the opportunity to re-assign employees to higher-level, cognitive-heavy jobs. 

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Our top 3 pick and place robot picks

The market is saturated with choices right now, and not all of them are made equal. But we’ve got the three main contenders for you, and we’re not shy about telling you about them.

1) FANUC M710iC/50: A strong option

The FANUC M-710iC/50 is a fast, agile robot with a payload capacity of up to 50 kilograms, available in multiple configurations for different applications. Its slim arm can access tight spaces with six axes of motion for maximum flexibility. 

It is also user-friendly, easy to program, and integrates well with conveyor systems and machine tools. If you need speed and precision, this robot is a great choice. If you’ve got the $40,000 - $70,000 that is — it will cost you.

2) ABB IRB 6640: A great pick

Then we’ve got the ABB IRB 6640, a true workhorse with the strength to match. With a whopping payload of up to 235 kg, this industrial robot features a sturdy arm with a long reach, making it suitable for a wide range of pick-and-place applications. 

The IRB 6640 is known for high reliability, precision, and energy efficiency. It does come with a higher price tag, $50,000 to $90,000 for the 235 kg version and $30,000 to $50,000 for a 130 kg version that still needs to add a few plates to its deadlift. 

3) Standard Bots’ RO1: The cost-effective solution

However, the true cost-effective beast is Standard Bots’ RO1, starting at half the price of the nearest competition and with a lease model starting at $5/hr.

This high-end cobot offers a good balance of speed, precision, and affordability for payloads up to 18 kg. Not only that, but RO1 boasts excellent speed and repeatability, up to 3m/s and +/-0.025 mm, respectively, with no compromises. 

To top things off, it doesn’t require any programming knowledge. RO1 comes with a revolutionary no-code framework, opening up automation to companies without specialized programmers.

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What’s next for pick-and-place robotics?

Robots are already fast and precise, but the future is looking even smarter. 

• AI-powered decision-making: Machine learning is making robots better at adjusting on the fly, reducing errors, and learning from the past — because yes, robots can now have a memory.
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• Cloud robotics: Instead of each robot working in isolation, cloud-connected pick-and-place bots can share data, optimize in real time, and even learn from other robots on the network.
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• Vision-guided automation: Future robots will see, analyze, and react to objects in real time. For instance, think of a pick-and-place bot identifying defective parts and sorting them out instantly.
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• More human-friendly cobots: Collaborative robots (cobots) are evolving to work perfectly with people thanks to better sensors and machine vision, which also has the added benefit of making automation accessible for businesses that don’t want to (or can’t) go fully robotic.

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Summing up

Pick-and-place automation can optimize production in ways that seemed unthinkable just a few short years ago. 

By implementing automated pick and place technology in your facility, you'll boost output, cut costs, improve quality, and increase flexibility. 

The hardest part was getting started, but we’ve helped you with the research stage. But remember, the right robot goes beyond things like price range: You have to determine what level of automation is right for you and then make an informed choice. 

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Next steps

Need a productivity game-changer? Look no further than Standard Bots' RO1, an industrial six-axis pick cobot, a top-tier choice for both burgeoning startups and established industrial giants.

• Affordability without compromise: RO1, leading its category, delivers unmatched value at 50% of the cost of its competitors without losing any quality.
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• Speed and power in a single package: Despite handling up to 18 kg in payload, RO1's excellent speed and repeatability also ensure a fast shop floor — all with a 1.3m reach.  
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• No-code and AI smarts: You don’t need to know a lick of programming to get RO1 going — plus, with an AI that rivals GPT-4, it learns right along with you. It can change from being a packaging robot to a welding, pick-and-place, machine tending, and inspection machine (and more). 
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• Built-in safety: Precision-engineered with embedded safety sensors, machine vision, and collision detection, RO1 guarantees secure and dependable operations within your shop floor.

‍Contact our solutions team today to set up a complimentary 30-day risk-free onsite trial and expert guidance on perfectly integrating your new RO1 into your shop floor.